


Strength of Heart

by littlest_shrike



Category: Persona 4
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst, Canon-Typical Violence, Daisuke-centric, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Eventual Smut, F/M, M/M, Slow Build Relationships, Tags May Change, Team Balls
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-10-12
Updated: 2014-11-16
Packaged: 2018-02-20 19:23:31
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 6
Words: 22,493
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2440025
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/littlest_shrike/pseuds/littlest_shrike
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Nagase Daisuke hates the gossiping and the rumors that saturate the halls of Yasogami High School after the disappearance of Amagi Yukiko. All he wants is to play soccer and hang out with his best friend. Everything changes when Ichijo Kou makes an appearance on something called The Midnight Channel and Daisuke finds himself in the middle of a great mystery.</p><p>A cannon divergence in which the Strength Arcana joins the party and an old mystery is not the same as you know it.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> So I started writing this a while ago and am now ready to start posting. It very loosely will follow the events of Golden (including the addition of Marie), but the end game will be very different. This starts of near the beginning of the game (early April, just after Yukiko kidnapped) and kind of goes on it's own from there. The timeline might be a bit wonky. 
> 
> Also, I know most people prefer the name Seta Souji for the protagonist, but I'll be using Narukami Yu for this story (I like it better I am sorry).
> 
> Enjoy. Comments and critiques are always welcome ~

 ++

It’s raining again.

Nagase Daisuke stares out over the muddy soccer field and scowls. Yet another day lost for practice.

"Hey man."

He glances over his shoulder to see Ichijo Kou approaching. He's still wearing his basketball gear underneath his uniform jacket, an umbrella in one hand and his school bag in the other. A grin stretches across his best friends face despite the crappy weather.

"Yo," he greets him in return, "Is the basketball team done already?"

"Yeah. No one except the transfer student showed up because of the rain."

Daisuke feels his brow furrow. "But you play in the gym."

Kou chuckles and shrugs. "Yeah try telling them that. Sometimes I think no one actually wants to play except me and Narukami. So is there a reason you’re standing out here in the rain with no umbrella?"

“Just lamenting all of the practice we’re missing. I thought maybe this year if we worked hard we might actually get to play in real games or even a tournament. But at this rate …”

There had been pretty much zero interest from the student body when clubs were officially open for recruitment, only a handful of first years who were enthusiastic but not as skilled as he would have hoped. It seems like they will be destined to mediocrity again.

_Why do I even bother._

“That’s rough man. So where is your umbrella?”

Oh. Right.

“Uh, I guess I forgot it.”

Kou makes a face. “You forgot it? It’s been raining all the time lately.”

“It’s just water, dude.”

At that moment his body chooses to betray him and he sneezes twice in quick succession. Kou is giving him a withering look and sometimes Daisuke wonders if he does this just to embarrass him.

“You’re going to get sick.”

“So then I’ll get sick, what’s the big deal. God you sound like my Mom.”

Kou lets loose a long, over dramatic sigh. He steps up along side him, angling his umbrella so it covers both of them. Daisuke thinks he should protest or something, but the rain is kind of cold now that he thinks about it and it's nice to be out of it. Not that he was going to say so or anything. He settles for looking affronted.

“What’s the team going to do without you? They’ll fall apart without their star player.”

“Pshhh, yeah right. They don't need me. Besides, even if I was he best player in Japan it doesn't matter if the team never shows up.”

Unlike Kou, Daisuke doesn’t operate under any illusion that his team really needs him. Sure he was one of their best players and the others often deferred to him, but he has no doubts that anyone else could fill that role for them if he were to just stop showing up. Besides, the soccer players were just as flakey as the basketball team; they skip practice at the slightest excuse. He thinks that no one in Inaba really cares about sports and their teams were just there so students could put something on their college applications.

Kou nudges him with his shoulder. “Don’t get so down on yourself man. Hey, let’s get out of here, I think I’m starting to get a chill too.”

Daisuke huffs. “Yeah, yeah. Listen, I have to go to the shopping district to pick up some stuff for my mom. She wants to make a curry to send to the Amagi family. You wanna come along?”

Amagi Yukiko has been missing for a week now. There are a lot of crazy rumors going around school that she is either dead, like that third year and the announcer who had both been killed very recently, or has run off with some guy. Daisuke tries not to pay attention to rumors - it was stupid and a waste of time - but it was all anyone was talking about and therefore difficult to ignore. Just that afternoon he heard one of his classmates say something about seeing Amagi on that weird TV show that’s supposed to only come on at midnight.

 _Does that mean Amagi-san is my soul mate?_ The guy had been ecstatic; Daisuke told him he was a moron.

Absolutely ridiculous.

“I would but I actually have to be getting home soon. Family stuff, you know?”

Sometimes Daisuke is really glad he doesn’t have Kou’s life. He can barely handle the relatively low expectations of his mother, he can’t imagine having to deal with political maneuverings and high society.

“But hey, what do you think happened to Amagi-san?” Kou asks as they make their way back to the school, “Do you really think she just ran off the way all the girls are saying or do you think …”

He trails off but Daisuke knows exactly what his friend is inferring. “Do I think she’s going to end up on a telephone pole the next time it gets foggy?”

“ _Dude_ ,” he seems mildly offended, “You can’t just say stuff like that.”

“What? You’re the one who asked me. Besides, you can’t deny that it’s a possibility. The timing is too close to be a coincidence. I mean, I hope she’s not going to get murdered and all, but let’s be realistic here.”

He realizes how cynical that all sounds but it’s absolutely true. Anyone who claims that she's just 'run off' or whatever is being petty or just plain stupid.

“Ugh, let’s not talk about this. I hate gossiping. So what hoops are the great Ichijo’s jumping you through tomorrow?”

Kou is happy to move on from the Amagi topic, though it doesn't get that far removed. “The usual. Dad’s been getting a lot of heat over the Namatame thing and he wants us all to come into the city tomorrow for some appearance. I think mom wants to leave tonight. Sorry I can’t come out with you.”

“No worries man, family stuff is important. I know you have a lot of obligations.”

“Yeah, but …” Kou sighs; Daisuke get's the feeling that there is a lot more he wants to say, but he doesn't. “Uh never mind. I should probably get going before I start getting ‘punctuality reminders’. I’ll see you later man.”

They say their goodbyes in front of the shoe lockers and then Kou sprints out the front door, waving absently behind him. Knowing him he was probably already late, having wasted precious time standing out in the rain with an idiot. Daisuke takes his time gathering his things before he leaves, and he feels like kind of an asshole. He knows that Kou is just looking out for him, the same way he tries to do for him. The way they've always done. Daisuke doesn't know why he's been in such a crappy mood lately. Maybe he'll blame it on the weather and the morbid gossip.

The rain has let up a little bit when he steps outside, now a cool gentle mist in place of a steady downpour. Even the thick grey clouds are beginning to thin, allowing the afternoon sun to peek through just a little bit. It lifts his mood as he begins to make his way to the shopping district.

 _I was being ridiculous_ , he thinks and shakes his head, _Why does he put up with me?_

God he was lucky to have a guy like Kou as his friend.

 

+++

 

By the time he collects everything on his mother’s list, the sun is just beginning to set. The clouds have all dispersed and the sparse skyline of Inaba’s meager shopping district is highlighted in the soft gold of fading light. The streets are near deserted, and Daisuke feels oddly content as he walks the road in silence.

He kind of wishes that Kou had been able to come along; Daisuke is admittedly terrible at this kind of thing and he already has a feeling like he might have forgotten something from the list. Kou is a much more organized person and would have gotten it all done in half the time. Daisuke has to go all the way to Junes to get what his mother needs - he’d forgotten that the grocers had gone under three weeks ago, their storefront now just a boarded up abandoned husk. It's taken him longer than he would have liked, but at least she'll be happy.

As he hefts the bags over his shoulder, he catches sight of someone standing in the road by the book store. A woman, blonde, in a strange deep blue dress that was not like anything he’s ever seen a girl wear before. His steps slow as he nears her and Daisuke can’t help but stare.

“Huh.”

She seems to be staring at the space between the bookstore and the weird metal smith who had moved to town a few months earlier. As far as he can tell she is staring at nothing. There isn’t anything between the shops, just a solid wall. Maybe she’s lost?

“Um. Hello?”

She doesn’t appear to acknowledge him. Shifting on high-heeled feet, she taps her chin with one  finger and makes a soft humming sound. Under one arm she cradles a thick, leather bound book that looks like it must weigh at least twenty pounds.

Daisuke frowns and tries again. He clears his throat in that ridiculous, exaggerated way people do and takes a long step towards her. “Excuse me? Miss? Are you lost or something?”

This time he seems to get her attention. When she finally turns toward him, the look of surprise on her face is unmistakable.

“Oh my. This is certainly unexpected.”

Objectively he knows when girls are attractive, even if he’s not overly interested in them, and she is definitely a beautiful girl. It was an exotic beauty, definitely not something you saw everyday in a place like Inaba. She has to be a foreigner, even though her Japanese didn’t seem to hold any traces of an accent. Still, the soft blonde curls and those bizarre gold eyes were not typical for, well, _anybody_ , foreign or not. Was she wearing contact lenses or something? He has a hard time pinning down how old she might be; she’s an adult, clearly older than him, but she has this strange quality to her that makes her seem almost ageless.

“Have we met before, perhaps?” she asks, tilting her head in a way that he can only think of as bird-like, “No, I don’t believe so. You have never been a guest of that place. Still, fate works in strange ways.”

“Uhhh … okay?” He has no idea what to do with any of that, so he scratches at the back of his neck with his free hand. “Are you lost or something?”

She seems amused by his questions. “Lost? Oh no, quite the opposite. I have come to the place that I need to be. At least for the immediate future. Why do you ask?”

“Well you were just kind of standing here staring at nothing. I thought maybe you might need some help or something.”

He glances back over at the brick wall she had been so intently focused on. He thinks maybe, for a second, he sees the colour blue, but it’s gone the moment it registers.

 _Trick of the light_ , he thinks and shakes his head.

“Do not trouble yourself over me, I am quite where I need to be. I was simply thinking about a personal matter before returning to my duties. I find it peaceful on this side.”

She smiles at him, and Daisuke thinks there is something profoundly sad in her strange coloured eyes.

“Yeah, the sky is pretty right now,” as soon as the words leave his mouth he realizes just how lame he sounds, “Uh … if you like that kind of thing.”

The quiet laughter that escapes her lips is almost musical. “Yes, it is quite lovely this evening. I sometimes forget that such simple things can be so rewarding. Ah, I’m afraid I have been rude and not properly introduced myself. My name is Margaret.”

“Oh, uh, I’m Nagase Daisuke. It’s nice to meet you.”

Talking to girls is usually difficult. Not because they make him nervous or anything, but because he just didn’t understand them. It was a pain in the ass, most of the time. There is something about Margaret though that puts him at ease, even if she is weird. Maybe it’s because she’s mature and seems to be interested in what he has to say, unlike most of the female population of Yasogami high school who just confess to him without ever having a conversation with him.

“This has been an interesting experience, Daisuke. I did not think to be able to speak with anyone while I was here, but I am glad that our fates have intersected. I hope that one day we will be able to cross paths again.”

Yeah, she is definitely weird.

“Oh, yeah. If you’re going to be in Inaba  maybe we’ll see each other again. It’s a pretty small place after all. I gotta, y’know, get home. My mom is waiting for this stuff,” he hoists the bag as if he needs some kind of emphasis, “But, uh, if you’re going to be in town for a while you should be careful. I’m sure you've heard that there were some murders here recently.”

The little smile that pulls at her lips is strange. “Ah, yes. That matter. Great turmoil will overrun this town, but there is still a path that will lead to a favourable resolution. Time will tell whether that path will be followed, but I have great faith in our current Guest.”

Daisuke has no idea what the hell she’s talking about. “Uh, so, you’ll be careful then?”

“If it will put your mind at ease, Nagase Daisuke, then I will certainly endeavor to be careful.”

It seems like she might be humoring him, but he can’t really bring himself to be offended. After all, it's not really his place to tell adults what they should be doing. A part of him wants to stay here and talk with her more, to find out what she is doing in town and why she talks like a psychopath, but he knows he has to get going. His mother is going to worry and the last thing he needs is for her to start getting overprotective, serial murderer or not.

“Okay. Good. Well, uh, I gotta go. It was nice to meet you, Margaret. I’ll see you around.”

He nods at her and starts to walk away. The sound of her soft laughter touches his ears again briefly and he can’t help the blush that burns up his neck.

Kou is never going to believe him.

 

+++

 


	2. Chapter 2

Amagi Yukiko returns home the very next day.

It’s all anyone talks about at school and Daisuke is sick of hearing about her by the end of homeroom. The girls gossip incessantly about her whereabouts. The most popular theory is that she did run off for some guy, much like the late Konishi-senpai, but was dumped and came crying back home. While he is glad that she hasn’t been murdered - because really, no one deserves that - he is extremely irritated that he has to listen to dramatic stage whispering all day.

He can’t even talk to Kou to take his mind off of it because he's off doing important Ichijo business.

He texts his mother during the lunch break to let her know Amagi was back, in case she hadn’t heard already, and to let her know that her condolence curry was now a welcome home curry.

That’s when he runs into Narukami Yu, the transfer student who had recently joined the basketball team. Narukami is on his way to the roof when they cross paths and invites Daisuke to join him for lunch.

“If you don’t have other plans, of course.”

Daisuke shrugs. Why the hell not? Since Kou was out he was just going to eat alone anyway. “Yeah, okay.”

Something is off about Narukami today but Daisuke can’t quite place it. He’s only known the guy for a short time now and they are still in the tentative stages of friendship, but Daisuke can tell that he isn’t on top of his game today. He usually seems so confident and cool, but when they finally reach the roof and Yu slumps against one of the benches it’s apparent that something is wrong.

“Hey man, are you okay?” he asks as he sits across from him, “You seem … I don’t know. Out of it?”

In the early afternoon sunlight he can clearly see the shadows under the other boy’s eyes. And was that a bruise on his jaw line or was it just the way the light was hitting him?

“Huh? Oh, yeah. I guess I haven’t been sleeping well lately. Probably stress, I think. New town, new school. You know?”

“Not first hand, but I get it.”

Daisuke has never been a transfer student - hell, he’s never really left Inaba before - but he can imagine it was probably a rough experience, especially in high school. It also probably didn’t help that he’s walked into a town that is experiencing it’s very first murder spree.

“So, no Ichijo today? One of the guys on the team told me earlier he didn’t show up so they were cancelling practice.”

Yeah, that sounds right. Sometimes Daisuke wonders if he and Kou are the only ones who take their respective teams even remotely seriously because everyone else just seems to slack off the second either one of their backs is turned.

“Oh, well, that doesn’t surprise me. They always bail when he doesn’t show, since he’s the captain and all. But hey, if you want to come play with the soccer team after school you’re more than welcome. I can always use someone to practice with. You know, if you’re feeling up to it.”

Narukami grins and nods. “I’ll think about it. So where is Kou today? Is he out sick?”

“Nah. He’s got some family thing he has to do today. It’s the price he pays for being so high and mighty.”

Yu looks confused, and it dawns on Daisuke that he probably didn’t know about Kou’s background yet.

“Oh right, you probably don’t know.  The Ichijo family is kind of a big deal. One of those old families that had too much money and a lot of influence, you know? I, uh, I don’t know how much Kou’s told you about it and I don’t want to overstep myself here, but let’s just say that when they tell him he has to take a day off to attend something he can’t say no.”

Narukami looks mildly shocked. “Wow, I had no idea. Sounds rough.”

Daisuke nods. “Yeah. It can be.”

They sit in an awkward silence for a few minutes before Narukami breaks out the most elaborate bento Daisuke has ever seen. He offers to split it, and there is absolutely no hesitation in accepting.

“Where the hell did you get this?” he demands, his mouth full of the most delicious steak he has ever eaten in his life, “Seriously, this is amazing. Did a girl give this too you? I mean, girls are always trying to give me bentos but most of them look like disasters.”

“I made it,” he replies casually as he snags a particularly well crafted radish swirl with his chopsticks.

Some rice falls out of Daisuke’s mouth and onto his track suit as he stares at the transfer student with slack jawed amazement.

“Dude, no way. You made this?”

“Yep.” 

“Seriously?”

“Yep.”

“... wow. _Dude_.”

“Clearly you attract the wrong kind of girl, Nagase.”

“Man, girls can be such a pain in the ass. I don’t know why we bother.”

Narukami shrugs. “They aren’t all bad.”

“Yeah, I know. I just get frustrated with them sometimes. Oh, but hey, I did meet this one girl. Well, woman really …”

He thinks Narukami seems like the kind of guy who will appreciate the weirdness of his Margaret story.

“Older woman, huh? I didn’t know you were into that kind of thing.”

“What? No, no, it’s not like that. I mean, she was pretty good looking but she was also really strange.  I was walking home through the shopping district yesterday and I saw her just kind of standing in the road down by the bookstore staring off into space. I think she might be foreign, since she was blonde and had these really weird clothes. Said her name was Margaret.”

Yu chokes on his rice.

“H-hey man, are you okay?”

He sputters for a few moments before going quiet. Yu sets his chopsticks down, and Daisuke can’t help but notice the stiffness in his face. Was something wrong? Did he know Margaret maybe?

“Are you -”

“‘M fine. Fine. Sorry, rice went down the wrong tube and it was really painful. So, uh, tell me about her.”

Daisuke isn’t entirely certain if he believes him, but he continues.  “She kept talking about fates and stuff, I don’t know. She kind of sounded a little bit insane. But she was very nice, and she seemed like she was sad about something. I guess she’s going to be in town for a while.”

Narukami’s face is like stone now, completely unreadable. There is something here that he’s missing, but he’s not sure how to dig for it without being obvious. He opens his mouth to ask if he knows her, but the warning bell signalling the end of their lunch hour goes off and Yu hastily begins to pack up the remains of his bento.

“We should get back to class,” he says too quickly as he stands, “Thanks for the company.”

The atmosphere between them is strained and Daisuke laughs in an attempt to combat this. He drops the Margaret thing and refocuses. “Yeah, thanks for sharing your insane cooking skills with me.  What does a guy have to do get some of that on a regular basis?”

“Sorry man, I’m not into that kind of thing. If you ask really nicely though, I think I could be persuaded to share occasionally.”

They both laugh and things are easy again.

The conversation turns trivial as they make their way back to the second floor and never steers back to  Margaret. They part ways and Daisuke watches as Narukami disappears into class 2-2. Later that day when he’s half-assing some soccer drills because most of the team decides to skip out with the basketball players, he is not surprised that Yu doesn’t show up either.

He does send a text though, saying that he’s pretty exhausted after all and he’ll take a rain check on joining him for soccer practice sometime. It doesn’t bother him too much, because halfway through practice it starts raining again and the few who did show up decide to call it a day.

Daisuke leaves it at that but thinks that maybe he should keep an eye on Narukami Yu, just in case.

 

+++

 

The intense smell of curry is driving him to distraction.

Daisuke is huddled over his books at their small living room table. In an attempt to keep his mother appeased about his studying habits he decides to work on his classical literature homework out in the open so she can see him taking her seriously. He regrets his choice though, because as soon as he sits down she begins working on the curry dish she has been so excited about.

He loves his mother, and he appreciates all of the things she does for him, but cooking has never been one of her strong suits.

That wasn’t to say she was bad at it. As long as she has a recipe and follows it to the letter the food she makes is perfectly fine. It’s when she starts improvising that things turn dangerous.

Even now Daisuke can tell that whatever she is making is too strong. He can taste it when he breathes and it worries him.

Needing a distraction other than homework, Daisuke picks up the remote and turns on the television.

“Oh, Daisuke, can you put the news on please? I missed it earlier.”

Damnit. He was hoping he would be able to watch a mindless variety show or something; the news was probably going to be nothing but the same recaps about the killings and he hates hearing about that kind of thing before he’s going to eat.

“Yeah, sure.”

_“- and the rain should continue tonight and for the next two days. After that expect to see lots of sunshine for at least a week. Now onto our local news. We begin tonight’s broadcast with an update about the bizarre serial murders that have occurred in the small town of Inaba ...”_

Oh good. This is exactly the thing he doesn’t want to hear about.

“Daisuke, honey, can you turn it up a bit please?”

He scowls and does as he is asked.

_“ … it seems that the teenaged daughter of the Amagi family has returned home safely. After being reported as missing for several days and being feared as a potential third victim of the Telephone Pole Killer it seems the girl has turned up at her family’s inn. While we were unable to reach the Amagi family for comment, sources close to them say that she was unharmed but exhausted and confused.”_

_“This raises some interesting questions, doesn’t it? Where was Amagi-san during this time? It’s certainly no secret that Yamano Mayumi stayed there right before she was murdered. And that Konishi Saki, the third year student who was also murdered, attended the same high school as Amagi. What does her disappearance and sudden reappearance mean for this case?”_

_“The police were also unable to comment about Amagi-san’s disappearance, however we do know they are continuing to investigate this matter.”_

Daisuke is mildly disgusted by the callous attitudes towards Amagi and the murders in general.

_“In a related matter, the process for electing a new city council secretary is now in motion after the dismissal of Namatame Taro. As our viewers should know, Namatame was relieved of his position shortly after his affair with reporter Yamano Mayumi came under public scrutiny. Yamano was the first victim of the Inaba killings, and though Namatame was cleared of any suspicion surrounding her death his movements are still being monitored by police. Namatame’s dismissal caused an uproar within the political cabinet, as he was a prominent member with a rising future. Today we managed to catch up with members of the Ichijo family, who were staunch supporters of Namatame before he was removed. Roll the clip please.”_

The remote falls out of Daisuke’s numb hand and Kou’s face is suddenly glaring back at him from the TV. His mother is hovering just behind him looking like the personification of a swarm of angry bees. She has Kou by the arm and is attempting to pull him away from the camera but he is struggling against her.

_“She already said she has no comment, why can’t you leave us alone?”_ Kou snaps at the microphone that is being shoved in his face.

_“Come on now, the public has a right to know about these things!”_ the reporter isn’t in the shot, but his obnoxious, disembodied voice can be heard clearly, _“It’s no secret the Ichijo family supported Namatame’s career, so surely you have some insight into his actions?”_

Kou would often complain to Daisuke about his family’s business. Daisuke didn’t mind, of course, because he knew it was important for his friend to be able to let off steam. He has mentioned that city council secretary's name a few times since his ex-wife had left him and his mistress had been murdered. Daisuke didn’t remember a lot of the details, but it seems his father had been good friends with the guy, and they were hoping to further his political career. Of course that all turned sour once the affair had came out and Namatame was fired from his position.

Apparently it’s a big embarrassing mess for Kou’s family that someone they supported conducted himself so shamefully.

_“Why don’t you ask him yourself? We don’t have anything else to say to you.”_

Kou relents to his mother’s attempts to pull him away, however as they began to distance themselves, the reporter shouts, “ _Hey, isn’t it true that you’re adopted?”_

Oh no. _Oh no._

The TV Kou freezes in place, and though his back is still turned it isn’t hard to picture the look of horror he is likely wearing. Kou’s heritage was not a secret per say, but it’s not knowledge that was widely spread around. It’s a sore spot for him, having to live up to the ridiculous expectations of a bloodline that wasn’t his own, and as far as Daisuke knew he was the only one outside of the family that he had openly told.

He wasn’t going to be happy. Hell, Daisuke wasn’t happy. If it were physically possible he would have reached his hand through the TV to punch that reporter in the face.

“Kou-kun is adopted?” his mother’s quiet voice is suddenly behind him and Daisuke can’t stop himself from jumping in surprise, “I had no idea. Did you-”

“Yeah, I knew. He told me in middle school.”

Daisuke turns off the TV, unwilling to watch his best friend be humiliated; a heavy silence fills the room.

_Call him_ , a voice beckons at the back of his mind,   _Call him right now._

“May I be excused? I think I should talk to him.”

“Of course Daisuke. Dinner will be ready in an hour, but if you need some time I’ll save you some.”

He gives her a half smile and then vaults the stairs three at a time to get to his room. He closes the door behind him and leans his back against it, sliding downwards until his butt hits the floor. Daisuke stares at his phone for about ten minutes before he works up the courage to actually call.

His mind is blank as the line rings in his ear. What was he going to say? How do you talk to someone after one of their biggest secrets is broadcasted across network television? Would he even want to talk to him right now. Shit, he was being too -

_Hey, this is Kou. Leave a message._

The phone beeps at him and Daisuke balks for a moment before he remembers to speak.

“Hey man, it’s me. Uh … shit, call me back okay? We should talk. So … just call, okay? I need to know if you’re okay.”

He stares at his phone for a long time before going back downstairs to finish his homework. It’s very hard to concentrate between the stench of too-strong curry and wondering about his best friend and whether or not he’s okay.

He reads the same paragraph about six times until his mother informs him that dinner is ready.

As it turns out the curry is not that bad. Other than the overwhelming smell it tastes okay. It’s easy to lie and say that it’s great because she knows that he’s all worked up about the TV interview and the food is now a distant afterthought. Thankfully she doesn’t pry, and only says that she’s here if he needs her.

Daisuke loves his mother more than anyone.

After they finish eating he offers to clean the kitchen and do all of the dishes while his mother prepares the rest of the curry to deliver to the Amagi family. She’s pleasantly shocked at this admittedly uncharacteristic show of helpfulness, and immediately sets him to work scrubbing pans.

There is something dark and extremely pungent caked onto all of their cookware, and when he questions her about it she is already on her way out the door.

“I’ll be back later. Thank you so much for all of your help Daisuke.”

And with that he’s alone. Daisuke spends almost an hour fighting the remnants of the curry before he gives up and decides to just let it all soak until tomorrow. He makes a halfhearted attempt to go back to his homework, but gives up after he realizes he is still reading that same paragraph from earlier.

Collecting his work he shoves it all into his school bag and returns to his room in a manner that he can only really describe as trudging. The bag is tossed into a corner as he collapses onto his futon. He thinks about trying to call Kou again, but he doesn’t want to seem like some clingy girlfriend. Kou is fine, he tells himself, he’ll call him back when he’s ready.

The hours tick by and his phone remains silent.

It’s late now and he’s tired but he just can’t sleep. He’s thinking about Kou and Amagi-san and curry that’s probably going to offend somebody important. Rain pelts the tiny window of his bedroom, both hypnotic and irritating at the same time. Daisuke just wants to go to sleep.

He’s lying face down on his bed when he first hears the sound. It’s a weird, high pitched static that shocks him into sitting upright. The old TV in the corner of the room is on, playing that electronic snow that meant it wasn’t getting any reception. It’s weird because Daisuke hasn’t turned that thing on in months, not since his playstation died and he couldn’t afford to get it replaced. Had he sat on the remote or something?

No. He glances over at his desk and sure enough there it was, slightly dusty and devoid of batteries.

“What the hell?” He rolls off of the futon and slowly approaches the television. As he gets closer, he notes that it’s not just playing static. There’s an image there, blurred but distinctive. Is that a person? Who is that?

Daisuke recalls a conversation he had with someone a few days ago.

_I’m pretty sure I saw her on the Midnight Channel last night! Does that mean Amagi-san is my soul mate?_

No way. It couldn’t be. He checks his phone and it informs him that it’s precisely 12:00.

“No way,” he mutters as he tosses the phone onto his futon.

He’s heard all the rumors about the mysterious Midnight Channel. If you watch a TV at midnight when it’s raining your soul mate will appear on the screen. The first time he heard about it Daisuke had laughed in some first year girl’s face when she explained it to him. She had said, _I hope I’ll see you there, Senpai_ , or something equally ridiculous. Later Kou had scolded him for mocking her in front of her friends, but he hadn’t really thought much about it honestly. Every now and then he would hear people gossiping about who they saw on the TV, though lately it had all been people professing to have seen Amagi.

It’s so stupid. This kind of thing didn’t happen. People did not see their soul mates on TV just because it was midnight and it was raining. Daisuke refuses to believe this can happen.

Except that it’s happening right in front of him. Well, _something_ is happening.

He moves right up in front of the screen. It’s not a particularly large TV, and it’s pretty old, but the picture has never been this blurry before. That is definitely a person, though the image barely qualifies as a silhouette and Daisuke can’t pick out a single detail about them other than he thinks it’s maybe a guy?

Wait. Does that mean his soul mate is a dude? Just as the first few prickles of panic begin to set in the image fades away and the TV goes dark.

What the hell just happened?

He sits in the dark for a while staring at the blank screen and wonders if maybe he can blame this on the curry.

 

+++

 


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just wanted to say thanks to everyone who has taken the time to comment and leave kudos. It really motivates me to keep going knowing that people enjoy the story.
> 
> As I'm sure you've noticed I'm taking a few liberties with Kou and Daisuke's back stories, especially Daisuke since there is very little about his home life. I've also decided that they are captains of their respective teams even though they aren't in game.

 

+++

 

The vibration of his cell phone wakes Daisuke an hour before his alarm is set to go off; he doesn’t look at the display before he answers.

“‘llo?” he manages to get out before an obnoxious yawn escapes him.

_"Daisuke? Hey, it’s Kou."_

Daisuke is suddenly very awake. He bolts upright and nearly drops his phone.

“Oh, hey man. How …” he trails off, suddenly feeling very awkward. He’s groggy and can’t think of what he should be saying. “Hey.”

A huff of laughter echoes from the line. " _Sometimes I forget just how eloquent you can be. There is a pause, and then, I … I’m sorry to call so early."_

“It’s fine, it’s fine. So … um ...”

God he feels so awkward. Daisuke wants to blame it on the lingering hold of sleep but if he’s honest with himself he knows that this would be just as difficult if it were the middle of the day.

“I saw the news,” he just blurts out, “I can’t believe that guy would just say that. He shouldn't be allowed to say that!”

_"Daisuke -"_

“I mean it’s nobody’s business right? You should sue them or -”

_"DAISUKE."_

There’s a long sigh.

_"Don't worry about me, I'll be fine. It was going to come out sooner or later, I had hoped that it would be under our own circumstances, not some asshole just blurting it out. But you can’t control the media, no matter how much my grandmother tries."_

“But you’re okay, right?”

God he sounds like clingy girlfriend right now. He feels like maybe he should be embarrassed about it, but his concern for Kou overrides that.

_"Dude, I’m okay, I promise. Listen, I’m not going to be in again today, we’re still out of town. Can you get me notes for what I missed?"_

Daisuke laughs. “You want my notes? Are you sure you’re not in some kind of shock?”

_"Well, maybe not your notes. Ask someone who’s smart."_

“Fine, fine. So when are you going to be back? That team of yours hasn’t had a single practice since you’ve been gone and it’s a bad influence on the soccer players. Nobody takes anything seriously.”

_"I should be back tomorrow. I can’t believe those guys haven’t had a single practice."_

“Okay good. But just so you know, I’m going to try and poach Narukami.”

It will probably be easy. At least the soccer team has a few members who actually show up regularly.

_"Yeah right. I have faith that Narukami will know which is the superior team. Maybe I’ll make him vice-captain or something just to be safe. Oh, hey, I have to go. We’re catching an early train. Hey … um … thanks. For calling and everything."_

“Oh. Yeah, of course man. What are best friends for?”

_"Not for getting homework, that's for sure. I’ll see you tomorrow Daisuke."_

“See you tomorrow.”

There is a click and the line goes dead. Daisuke stares at his phone in the darkness for several minutes before tossing it aside and settling back into his blankets. He feels a swell of relief, though he can’t help but think that maybe Kou was not being completely honest with him. Did it seem like he brushed that all off a little too quickly? Maybe he was just imagining things. It's still pretty early after all.

He manages about another twenty minutes of dozing before he hauls himself out of bed, despite still being groggy. It’s early still and the house is quiet as he pads downstairs; his mother is still in bed and probably won’t be up for another half an hour. The soft patter of rain against the window is the only thing that breaks the silence.

Great, another rainy day.

Daisuke manages to distract himself with an attempt at cooking breakfast. It turns out that he’s not so bad at scrambling eggs and putting bread in a toaster.

“What’s going on here?”

As he’s halfway through his meal his mother shuffles into the kitchen, making a beeline towards the kettle.

“Woke up early and couldn’t get back to sleep,” he says, “I was hungry and didn’t want to wake you up. There are more eggs if you want them.”

She goes through the motions of preparing her morning tea. “This is the first time you’ve made your own breakfast in … ever, I think. I am suitably impressed. Are these eggs edible or just for show?”

“They’re not bad.”

“Good enough for me.”

Daisuke watches as she prepares toast for herself and scoops the remainder of the eggs onto a plate of her own before joining him at the table. She seems to ignore her food in favour of looking him over suspiciously.

“So why are you really up this early?”

Damn. It’s difficult to get anything past her. He’s too tired to try and come up with some bullshit excuse, so he just goes with the truth.

“Kou called me.”

“Oh.” She’s quiet for several moments, perhaps unsure of how to proceed. “How is Kou-kun? Is he alright?”

He said he was fine but Daisuke can’t bring himself to believe that. Kou is a cheerful guy, always with a joke or a smile when Daisuke is being stupid. But he knows that Kou is under a lot of stress from his family and his obligations and that he never takes the time to really worry about himself. Not that Daisuke is any better at that; the two of them are the biggest pair of idiots really, always worrying about the other but never themselves.

“I … don’t know. He said he was fine but I don’t know how much of that was just to make me feel better about worrying. It’s gotta hurt him a lot, having such an important secret outed to the world so easily.”

“It must be hard for him.”

Daisuke makes a noncommittal grunt and slumps over the table. There is the sound of cutlery clinking and the the scrapping of a chair; his mother stoops over him, wrapping one arm around his shoulders.

“Are you okay?” she asks softly, “You seem to be taking this very poorly.”

“‘M fine,” he mumbles, “I’m just … I don’t know. Mad about it, I guess.”

She squeezes her arm and Daisuke presses into her side; she smells like eggs and lavender, a strange combination.

“Kou-kun is lucky to have a friend like you then. Not everyone would take someone else’s problems so personally.”

“Of course it’s personal, he’s my best friend! And they … they shouldn’t be allowed to just do that to people. It’s not fair.”

“Oh baby,” she hums and strokes one hand over his hair; it’s both soothing and patronizing, “Sometimes the world isn’t fair. Most times, really. The best thing you can do right now is stand by him. I’m sure not everyone is going to be so kind to find out that he was adopted.”

She’s probably right about that. Kou has never been one to flaunt his status as a member of the high and mighty Ichijo clan, but Daisuke knows there are people who privately resent him for it anyways. Money. Privilege. Power. Those are things that everyone seems to want, even in a tiny place like Inaba.  There are going to be questions and rumors. People will point and whisper behind turned backs.

_He’s not a real Ichijo_ , they’ll say. _Just a pretender._

“People are weird about stuff like this,” his mother goes on, “Adoption, I mean. It’s a wonderful thing, taking a child into your home, but people still talk about it like it’s such a scandal. Family is family, whether there is blood between you or not and I think people forget that. Or they just want something to gossip about. It’s important at times like this that Kou-kun knows who his real friends are.”

She lets him go then, ruffles his hair once more and starts gathering up their breakfast plates.

“Why don’t you go and get ready for school, I’ll take care of these dishes. Thanks for the breakfast, you did a pretty good job.”

He pushes himself away from the table with a sigh and starts towards the stairs.

“Oh, Daisuke. Promise me something, okay?”

He glances back at her over his shoulder. “Yeah?”

“Try not to get into any fights today. I know it’s been a very long time since you have but … just, if you can help it, please don’t punch anyone.”

Easier said than done he thinks.

“I’ll try.”

It’s going to be a long day.

 

+++

 

Daisuke gets all the way to lunch before people start to descend on him.

As soon as the bell rings and the teacher dismisses them, a group of guys is suddenly surrounding his desk. They must have been holding this in all day because they look eager as hell.

“Yo man, what the hell is the deal with Kou?” one of them gets right up in his face, “Is he really adopted?”

Another guy, someone from the basketball team he thinks, pushes the first guy out of the way. “Did you know, Nagase? You guys are tight and all, he probably told you, right?”

People are shouting questions at him from all sides and Daisuke is overwhelmed.  Everyone in the class is watching him, waiting for the answers they believe him to have.

“It’s none of your business,” he snaps, “Don’t ask me about it.”

“Che, don’t hold out on us man. We got the right to know.”

“Like shit you do,” Daisuke is on his feet before he realizes it, slamming his palms down on the desktop, “How would you like it if some reporter broadcast your private life all over the news, huh? Would you want some asshole asking for more details?”

“Calm your shit man,” they all seem to take a simultaneous step backwards, “It’s not a big deal, we’re just curious.”

“Yeah. Ain’t every day you find out some big shot like Ichijo’s really just another nobody.”

_Please don’t punch anybody._

It takes all of the self control he has not to fly off the handle and hit someone. Anyone; it didn’t matter who. Everyone is staring, girls are whispering to each other and Daisuke has to dig his fingernails into his own palms to keep from lashing out. He promised he wouldn’t.

“He’s not a nobody,” he grits out between clenched teeth, “Kou is the same guy he was yesterday. So don’t ask me about this again, and don’t you fucking dare pile these shitty questions on him when he’s back or you will damn well regret it.”

Daisuke is a big guy and he knows how to use that to his advantage when he needs to. It‘s been a really long time since he’s needed to seriously intimidate anybody, not since his first year of middle school when some older kids were trying to pick a fight with Kou, but he knows how to turn it on instinctively. His classmates flinch away when straightens up and glares daggers around the room; its so quiet he can hear the sound of his own breath.

“Wow, Nagase is really fired up about this,” he hears a whisper float from somewhere toward the back of the room, “He’s usually so laid back.”

“They are best friends though, I can understand why he’d get mad,” a second voice adds, “Those guys were being jerks.”

“Still, he looks pretty scary right now.”

He gathers his things, pointedly not looking at anyone, and storms out of the classroom. The line has been drawn and if anyone gives Kou a hard time they are going to be dealing with him. As much as he hates the gossip mill he’s going to rely on it to spread that around. Daisuke blazes through the halls, not bothering to stop when people call his name, until he finally finds himself on the roof of the school.

It seems like the rain has stopped, though the heavy grey clouds look like they’re going to start spilling again at any moment. He’s surprised though to see that the roof is already occupied. In the far corner, huddled under umbrellas and crowded around cooling bowls of instant ramen, are Narukami, Hanamura, and Satonaka. What are those three doing up here in this weather?

They halt mid-conversation when they notice him. He catches Yu’s eye, and the other boy tilts his head in surprise. Yosuke and Chie exchange hushed words that he can’t quite hear, which end with Chie stomping hard on Yosuke’s foot. Daisuke thinks the way Yu inclines his head is maybe an invitation to join them, but he can’t bring himself to be sociable after what just happened.

He shakes his head and makes a hasty retreat back into the stairwell. If he remembers he’ll send Yu a text later to apologize for being an asshole.

In the end he finds himself in the music room pacing. He’s too worked up to eat, too angry and frustrated to do anything but run circles in his own mind. It’s unusual for Daisuke to get this agitated and he thinks that if Kou could see him like this, so irate on his behalf, he would probably smack him and call him a moron. For most of the lunch period he considers skipping the rest of the day - his mother will be furious but he’s sure she will forgive him under the circumstances - but ultimately he decides against it. There are only a few more hours left and really he has no where to go.

His classmates all avert their eyes when he returns and he feels a little better about that.

The rest of the afternoon passes easily as Daisuke distracts himself with learning for once, taking legitimate notes that he thinks even Kou can’t make fun of. Nobody bothers him during the short break when the teachers rotate, and when the final class ends they keep their distance. He feels a few eyes on him, catches a few whispered words, but no one outright asks him anything about Kou.

There are a few girls clustered around the shoe lockers when he goes to leave, but as a couple of third years begin to approach him the withering glare he sends in their direction stops them in their tracks. He has a hard enough time dealing with girls on a regular day, he refuses to do so now.

They look really put out as he brushes past them but he can’t bring himself to care.

Daisuke does remember to send Yu a text later that evening. It’s long after dinner and he’s been moping in his room for hours. He’s thought about calling or texting Kou to see how he’s doing, but he still worries about coming off as too clingy.

_He’s fine. You’ll see him tomorrow._

So instead he sends Narukami an apology.

_Hey man. Sorry about today, I was in a bad mood._

He doesn’t really expect anything to come from this, but he gets a response almost immediately.

_That’s okay, another time maybe._ And then a moment later _, Are you okay though? I heard things were pretty tense in your class today._

Of course he heard. He’s sure by now everyone’s heard and they better damn well know to back off.

_Yeah, I’m cool. Thanks._

Yu’s doesn’t respond immediately and he thinks that’s the end of it. Daisuke is sitting at his desk under the pretense of homework, but really he’s just staring at the rain pelting against his window when his phone vibrates in his pocket.

_If you ever want to talk about stuff, I’m always around to listen. I’ll bring a boxed lunch :)_

Daisuke stares at the message - what was with the smiley face? - for a long time. He feels the corners of his mouth lift in an involuntary smile. There is something really strange about Narukami Yu, but maybe that’s why he seems so easy to get along with. He should really come up with a plan to poach him after all. Kou probably won’t even be that mad about it.

_Thanks. Maybe I’ll take you up on that._

It’s getting late now, and he thinks that he probably should have been in bed a while ago. He gathers up his homework and shoves it into his school bag before standing up to stretch out his back. As he reaches to flip off his desk lamp, a familiar sound catches his ear.

The television set is on again.

Shit. With everything that’s happened it slipped out of his mind. Sure enough when he checks his phone it’s midnight on the dot. Static hisses through the room, more intense than he remembers from last night.

“What the hell,” he mutters as he goes right up to the screen.

The image is not as blurry as it was before. That’s definitely a dude. Whoever this is he can’t see their face or really make out what they’re wearing - it looks like a lot of long layers whatever it is - but there is something that nags at the back of his mind. A spark of familiarity that he can’t quite place. The figure is just standing there, swaying back and forth a little.

Daisuke reaches out, fingertips grazing the surface of the dusty glass, and the image cuts out.

“What the hell?” he repeats, and prods at the TV again; it remains off.

He sits and stares at it long past midnight, wondering why this is happening. There has to be a logical explanation here somewhere. Briefly he thinks about texting Kou or even Yu to ask them if they had seen this, but then realizes how insane it sounds.

It’s late and he’s tired and it’s been a long day for him. Maybe he’s the one who’s going insane, seeing things that aren't there. When it becomes apparent that nothing further is going to happen with the TV he crawls into bed, cocooning himself in his blankets.

It’s a very long time before he falls asleep.

 

+++

 

 


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi everyone. Just wanted to let you know that the next chapter will be a bit delayed as I am going on a vacation next week so I won't be writing. I'm hoping I'll be able to update again during the first week of November ~ Sorry for the wait, I hope you'll enjoy this chapter in the mean time.

 

+++

 

“Yo, Daisuke!”

Hanamura Yosuke stops his bike right up alongside him, a wide exaggerated grin on his face that seems at odds with the nervous twitch in his eye. Daisuke is immediately suspicious.

“Oh. Hey man,” he greets him warily, “What’s up?”

School hasn’t started yet but students steadily stream in through the front gates. The first warning bell will go off in about ten minutes, so there’s still time. Daisuke has been waiting at the gate now for about fifteen minutes, huddled under his umbrella that does little to protect him from the wind blown rain; he wonders briefly how Yosuke can ride his bike in this weather.

Kou still hasn’t shown up.

He’s texted him once already, a very casual ‘where r u?’, but he’s got the itch to send another. Or call him. Maybe he’s just being paranoid, but given all that’s happened he can’t help but worry.  

_He’s probably just running late_ , he thinks, _He’s always running late. That’s all._

“Oh me? Nothing’s up. Just thought I’d, y’know, stop and say hi.”

There's something about the way that Yosuke won’t meet his eye that sets him on edge. Daisuke squints at him and he flinches.

“Right. Hi. What do you really want?”

He had thought that Hanamura of all people was not someone who would try to pry him for information about Kou. It’s kind of disappointing really. He likes Yosuke. When he’d briefly worked at Junes - his mother made him quit because his grades were terrible and he needed to spend his time on school work - Yosuke had been super cool with him and really seemed to want to keep the employees happy. But now here he is, awkwardly making small talk in hopes of information.

Yosuke at least has the decency to look embarrassed. “Oh, uh … listen, it’s not what you think, okay? I’m not … you know what, I’m sorry man. Never mind. I’m sorry. Just … be careful, okay?”

He claps Daisuke on the shoulder and before he can even think to ask what Yosuke is talking about he’s running off with his bike. What the hell was that? Be careful. What did he mean by that?

Why is everything in his life so weird and complicated these days?

Time continues to tick by with no sign of Kou. There’s less and less people coming through the gates now, only the stragglers who drag their feet and complain to each other about how much of a pain in the ass school is. The bell will go off any moment now and his friend is nowhere to be seen. He did say he was going to be back today, right?

_Fuck it_ , Daisuke decides, _I’m calling him._

The call goes immediately to voicemail and an unpleasant feeling of dread begins to settle in his stomach.

“The hell man,” he mutters and begins typing out another text message.

_Dude, are you okay? I thought you were going to be here today. I know this is probably ridiculous but can you please text me or something?_

The warning bell goes off and Daisuke is torn. Part of him wants to stand out here and wait; Kou could come running up the road any moment now, a simple  case of just having the world’s worst timing. But maybe he wasn’t coming. Maybe something came up with his family, or he wasn’t feeling up to coming back yet after what happened with the reporters.

“Nagase!”

Sofue-sensei is out in the foyer rounding up the stragglers and her focus lands on him. Shit.

“Classes will begin soon, Nagase-kun. Please make your way inside.”

_But he’s not here._

He looks out over the road one last time but no one is there. His phone remains silent. With a sigh he slowly turns towards the building, dragging his feet as he shuffles past Sofue-sensei. She gives him a sharp-eyed look but he barely notices, to wrapped up in his own head to care. He has a brief hope that maybe Kou has gotten to school early or he somehow missed him earlier, but when he gets to class there is still no sign of him.

_Stop being so ridiculous_ , a voice echoes through his head, _You’re acting like some heart broken girlfriend._

He puts his head down on his desk and waits for class to start. There is chatter all around but thankfully none of it is directed at him.

“Oh hey, did you hear? Amagi-san in class two is back today.”

A conversation behind him catches his ears.

“Yeah, I saw her at the shoe lockers talking to Narukami-kun, the transfer student. She sure moves on fast.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

"Well since she didn’t get killed it must be true that she ran off with a guy that she met. Probably didn’t work out so now she’s come back to try and hook another one.”

“That’s a terrible thing to say!”

So Amagi Yukiko was back at school today. Daisuke feels bad for thinking it, but her reappearance should at least distract people from the Kou thing for a day or so. Not that anyone has approached him yet today, other than Hanamura of course. at least his outburst was being taken seriously.

The day passes by at a snail’s crawl, one boring lecture after another. Kou does not show up to class nor does he respond to his texts. Everyone at school gives him a wide berth in the halls. People barely even look at him and he wonders if maybe he over did things a little bit.

During the lunch break he passes Narukami, Hanamura, Satonaka and Amagi all grouped together in deep conversation by the stairwells. They are too engrossed in whatever it is they are talking about to notice him - not even the hyper aware Narukami so much as glances up - but he does catch an interesting snippet of dialogue.

“We can’t be sure,” one of the girls says, “It’s too early to tell.”

“No, I’m pretty sure-” Hanamura, he thinks - “It makes sense, with the connections and all. Let’s go after school.”

“Yeah. Maybe Teddie can tell us something.”

Teddie? Who was Teddie? Weird.

He doesn't dwell on it though, and it’s mostly forgotten by the end of the day. When the final class is done, Daisuke is the first one out the door. He doesn’t want to be here, he wants to find out why Kou isn't at school today. He heads towards the shoe lockers, cell phone in hand

_"Hey, this is Kou. Leave a message."_

Several calls all result in the same thing. Right away he is redirected to the mailbox, as if he’s on the line with someone else. He sends a bunch of text messages too, each more desperate sounding than the last, but to no avail.

Daisuke is so distracted by his phone that he nearly bowls over someone on his way out the door.

“Oh shit, sorry man,” he apologizes, “Are you alright?”

The guy’s not wearing a Yasogami uniform, or any school uniform for that matter, even though he’s clearly around his own age. Maybe he went to a different school? He’s heard that there are some places that didn’t have a uniform policy (not that Yasogami even remotely enforces any standards - Daisuke can’t even remember the last time he’d worn anything but athletic gear.) He’s pretty short, with dark hair tucked under a blue cap and a matching blue coat that seems like it should be too warm for this weather. The look he’s giving Daisuke is completely impassive.

“I’m fine,” he responds evenly, “But I would suggest you watch where you’re walking.”

The way he speaks is so formal it makes him wonder if this guy’s secretly an old man.

“Ah, yeah. Sorry.”

“Perhaps you can make amends by giving me some directions. Where can I find the faculty lounge?”

“Oh, it’s just around the corner there,” he points in the direction of the right-most hallway, “Second door on the right, you can’t miss it. Are you … you don’t go here, right?”

The boy tilts his head.

“No, I am not a student here. I’ve come on a professional errand,” he shoves his hands into his pockets and nods, “Thank you for your assistance. If you’ll excuse me.”

He’s gone before Daisuke can blink.

_What a weird guy._

Shaking it off, Daisuke refocuses on a much more important matter. Where the hell was Kou and why isn't he answering his phone? Should he go to his apartment? Could he maybe call the family estate? What should he do? He ponders his options as he begins to make his way home in the rain.

_Maybe I’m over reacting_ , he thinks as he stares at his contact list; he’s certainly been doing a lot of that lately, _He probably got held up in the city_.

He lives fairly close to the school zone, only a fifteen minute walk away, and as he finds himself close to home he sees an unfamiliar car parked on the road in front of the house. It’s a blue sedan, completely unremarkable, but for some reason it sets him on edge. Daisuke stares at it for a long while. When he finally works up the nerve to go inside his mother appears almost out of thin air and the look of worry on her face makes him nervous.

“Mom, what’s going on?”

“Daisuke,” she takes him by the hand, “There are some police detectives here. They want to ask you some questions.”

_What._

“What?” he repeats, because he's not sure if his first reaction was made out loud.

She sighs and releases him. “It’s about Kou-kun. They wouldn’t tell me anything more, they wanted to wait for you. Come on, let’s not keep them waiting.”

Daisuke nods numbly and follows her into the kitchen; his hands are shaking and his gut feels like lead. There are two men sitting at the table. One is a younger guy, in his mid twenties maybe, who is smiling in a way that he thinks might be sympathetic. He looks kind of sloppy; uncombed hair, a suit that doesn’t quite fit him and a loose tie. In contrast, the other man is a little older and better dressed, and though he’s also kind of scruffy he seems to have an air of authority.

“Hello there,” the younger guy says, “You must be Daisuke. It’s nice to meet you.”

The older guy shoots his partner a brief scathing look. “I’m Detective Dojima, this is my partner Detective Adachi. We’re sorry to ambush you at home like this but we thought it might be best to speak with you in privacy. We didn’t want to cause any kind of scene at the school after everything that’s happened recently.”

“What’s this about?” he asks in a voice that is too small for him; he already knows the answer.

“There isn’t really a delicate way to say this so I’ll just be honest. This morning the Ichijo family reported their son Kou as being missing, since yesterday morning they believe.”

The world stops and Daisuke can’t breathe. Kou is missing? This can't be right. He had just spoken with him yesterday.

“When tracing his phone records over the last 48 hours we found that the last person he spoke to was you,” Dojima says, as if reading his mind, “His family indicated to us that you are his best friend and we were hoping you could give us some insight into his movements before he went missing.”

“I …”

He doesn’t know what to say; his mind is completely blank. Kou is missing. How did this happen? They must be mistaken. Kou can’t be missing.

He said he would be back.

The detectives are staring at him expectantly, though not unkindly. They’re waiting for an answer. His mother stands behind him, settling her hands on his shoulders; it’s a comforting weight though she must be able to feel the tremors running through his body.

“He called me yesterday. Early in the morning,” words finally come to him as he stares down blearily at the tabletop, “I had left him a message before. I was worried about him because of the news report.”

“Oh, right, where the reporter asked him if he was adopted,” Adachi says in an almost cheerful voice, like it’s an after thought.

Dojima gives him another hard look and the younger detective kind of shrinks back and clamps his mouth shut.

“Go on.”

“We only talked for a few minutes. I was worried about him, but Kou kept saying he was fine. He said that he was going to be back at school today.”

“And he didn’t show up, correct?”

Daisuke shook his head. “No,” he replies somberly, “I tried calling and texting him but he never answered. I figured maybe he got held up with family stuff, but he usually tells me when he’s going to be away.”

“Has Ichijo been acting strangely at all recently? Before the report on television I mean.”

“No, not really.”

“I see,” Dojima furrows his brow, thinking to himself for a moment, “And can you think of anyone who might have it out for him or the family? I’m sure he confided in you about stuff like that.”

Daisuke shakes his head. “You’re asking if I think anyone’s got a grudge against him? I don’t think so. He’s a friendly guy, lots of people at school look up to him. I mean, Kou does complain sometimes about his family, but it’s only about his obligations and stuff like that. Just venting, you know?”

The idea of someone having a personal grudge against Ichijo Kou kind of offends him. People can gossip all they want, but at the end of the day he can’t think of anyone who would hate him enough for something like this.

“Okay. Do you think he would have any reason to run away?”

“Run away?” Daisuke can’t believe that, “He wouldn’t do that. Why would he do that?”

“Maybe he thought the pressure would be too much for him after the adoption reveal?” Adachi chimes in, “It must be rough having to face something like that, let alone having it spread all over the media. The Ichijo’s are a high profile family and as the only son he has a lot of obligations to uphold. People won’t look at him the same. They won’t look at the family the same. Maybe he thought it just wasn’t worth it.”

“That’s not true!” he snaps back, forgetting that these were police detectives he was arguing with, “Kou’s not like that!”

“You just said that he complains to you about family stuff. Maybe he felt like this was an easy way out?”

“Shut up man, you don’t know him!”

“Daisuke!” he feels his mother’s hands grip his shoulders, “Mind your manners in front of the police.”

Shit. He needs to calm down, these were detectives not his classmates, he can’t just yell at them until they left it alone. For his part Adachi seems unphased by his outburst.

“Ha, sorry there, I didn’t mean to upset you Daisuke. I’m just asking questions here, it’s my job you know.”

He decides that he doesn’t like Detective Adachi. There is something about that easy going attitude that sets him on edge. Was he even talking this seriously?

“I think we’ve taken enough of your time today,” Dojima says after a few moments of tense silence, “If there’s anything else you remember, even if you think it might not be important, then please contact me right away. Here’s my card,” he slides a plain business card across the table; Daisuke takes it after some hesitation. It’s just a name and a phone number, stark black ink against white card stock.

Daisuke catches Dojima’s eye. “Can I ask you something?”

Dojima nods and Daisuke worries at his lip with his teeth.

“Do you think he’s alright?”

The detective looks lost. He’s not nearly as ‘personable’ as Adachi, but Daisuke thinks that means he can trust his word on this more, even if it’s not what he wants to hear.

“I’m sorry, I can’t really say. It’s too early to tell, but with all the incidents in Inaba lately we can’t afford to treat anything lightly. The story about Ichijo being missing is likely going to break on the news tonight, so be prepared for that. You seem like a good kid, I wish there was more I could tell you.”

The incidents. He means the murders. Oh god, what if … no, he refuses to think that. It all has to be just a misunderstanding. Amagi came back, didn’t she? Kou will too.

“We’ll do our best to find your missing friend, don’t you worry!” Adachi adds, “The police are on the case.”

“Shut up, Adachi,” Dojima sighs, clearly irritated, as they both stand, “We’ll show ourselves out. Thanks again, we’ll be in touch.”

They leave, and when he hears the front door shut behind them Daisuke collapses over the table. Everything he’s been feeling for the last few days, the anger, the anxiety, the overwhelming concern, just come erupting out of him all at once. It’s been a long while since he’s cried, and what comes out is gross, ugly sobbing. Tears are streaming out of his eyes, his nose is running and he can’t stop the full body shakes or the embarrassing noises that come out of his mouth.

His mother brings a chair up beside him and pulls him into a hug.

“Shhhhh, it’s okay,” she says quietly as she smooths his hair, “They’ll find him.”

He presses his face into her neck and cries until he’s exhausted.

They don’t watch the news that night. They call for take out from Aiya and then his mother draws him a hot bath afterwards.

_You don’t want to get sick do you?_

This upsets him all over again and Daisuke says he wants to be alone for a while. The warm water and the solitude is nice because it gives him a chance to clear his thoughts and get over the embarrassment of his gross emotional outburst. For almost an hour he lays in the bathtub staring blankly at the wall and wonders why this is happening. Why Kou? Was it because he was an Ichijo? Did it have something to do with the news broadcast or was that just a shitty coincidence?

The water is stone cold by the time he gets out. The muted sounds of the television catch his ear as he goes to his room, but it’s just a variety show and not the news. Daisuke is almost afraid to turn on the news; he doesn’t want to hear what those asshole reporters will say about Kou or his family.

He puts on his pajamas and crawls into bed, even though it’s only eight thirty. A fitful rest overtakes him, though he is jolted right back out of it a few hours later by the sound of his phone buzzing on his desk. He tries not to get his hopes up, and is therefore only slightly disappointed to see it’s a message from Narukami.

_Are you free tomorrow? I’d like to talk to you about something. It's important._

He’s too exhausted to respond and it’s probably too late for that anyways. It’s …

“Almost midnight.”

Of course it’s still raining out - he wonders if maybe it’ll never stop raining and Inaba will disappear under flood waters - and he remembers the Midnight Channel. It’s happened the last two nights in a row, maybe it will happen again tonight. It’s at least something to take his mind off of things, so he stands in front of the TV for a few minutes counting down the time until midnight.

It flares to life right on cue, but this time everything is wildly different.

The picture is crystal clear and there’s no static. A zen garden lies before him, like one of those ones you would see at an old traditional manor house. Perfectly tended and pristine, it’s something right out of the glossy pages of a travel magazine. And sitting there, right in the centre, is a face he knows all too well.

“No way”

Ichijo Kou is kneeling between two immaculate rock gardens. He’s dressed in old fashion clothes, like an old feudal lord might wear; the long sleeves of a black kimono pool around him, a strange white crest emblazoned over his heart. In front of him is the gleaming blade of a katana, just within arm’s reach. When Kou looks directly at the camera - where the hell are they filming this? - he grins, wide and feral in a way that makes his face look alien.

Daisuke thinks he might throw up.

“ _What to do, what to do,_ ” Kou starts talking suddenly, a ponderous look on his face, “ _I’ve brought shame to the family name all by virtue of existence. The only son of a noble house - a fraud by blood. A pretender to the name._ ”

What the hell was this? Was someone forcing him to act this out?

“ _How would a real noble lord handle this kind of disgrace? Oh, yes. That’s right. I guess there is no other option for me. I will cleanse this embarrassment from the Ichijo legacy with my own hands_.”

He leans forward and brushes one hand over the blade of the katana; his tongue darts out between his teeth, swiping at his lower lip.

“ _Seppuku. Live, for your viewing pleasure of course. Stay tuned peasants, it’s going to get awfully messy in the House of Ichijo._ ”

What? No. No this is not happening.

“ _Oh and hey, I know you’re watching Daisuke. They'll try to convince you. Don’t let them come in after me, okay? It’s not part of the plan._ ”

Daisuke feels every muscle in his body simultaneously clench as Kou gets up, steps delicately over the blade, and moves closer to the screen. He knows it’s not possible - it just can’t be possible - but it seems like Kou manages to look him directly in the eye. Daisuke is caught in his gaze and, without thinking, inches his face closer to the television.

“Kou?”

“ _That’s a good boy_.”

The screen goes dark and Daisuke can’t breathe.

What the fuck? What the fuck was that?

He’s broken out of his impending meltdown by the sound of his cell phone. It rings three times before he has the presence of mind to grab it from the desk; Narukami’s name flashes at him insistently and Daisuke is suddenly angry.

He knows something. He fucking _knows_.

“What the fuck was that, huh?”

There are no hellos or other small talk; he skips right into the heart of it. Daisuke doesn't bother with any pretense of civility, and he’s pretty sure he can feel Yu flinch through the phone.

“ _Meet me at the Junes food court  tomorrow morning. 10 o’clock. I’ll explain everything._ ”

“Do you know where he is? Why is he on that fucked up TV channel?”

“ _Just calm down and -_ ”

“I’m going to call the police!” He has that detective’s card somewhere.

“ _Do not call the police Nagase_.”

Was he making demands? God is he ever pissed off. “Fuck you Narukami, why the hell shouldn’t I call the police?”

“ _Because they can’t help him and they aren’t going to believe you. Please just trust me on this._ ”

He grips the phone so tight his fingers start to ache, and as he contemplates throwing it through the TV screen Narukami speaks again.

“ _Come to Junes tomorrow_ ,” he repeats, “ _We’ll explain everything_.”

Yu hangs up and Daisuke ends up hurling the phone at his wall. He regrets it as it sails through the air, but thankfully it just bounces off of a poster and lands harmlessly on his futon. He wants to scream, a heinous blend of rage and fear and frustration churning inside him, but he chokes it down because it’s late and his mother will be angry and there will be no explaining this.

Instead he carefully sinks to the floor, shaking and cursing under his breath, while he tries to process what he’s just seen. Of course Yu was absolutely right; no one is going to believe a story like this. His best friend is threatening to commit seppuku on some weird television channel that you can only see at midnight when it's raining. Daisuke barely believes it and he just saw it. In the end he really has no choice; if he wants answers he's going to have to hear what Narukami has to say.

He doesn't sleep that night.

 

+++

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Shit's getting real :)


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Greetings readers, I have returned from my vacation. Thanks to everyone who commented and left kudos while I was away, that's always nice to come back to. I'm going to have some busy weeks coming up but I will be aiming to update this at least once per week.
> 
> I realize I made a tiny little error in canon continuity, as Daisuke and Kou are not in the same class in the game. For plot purposes I am going to stick with having them together and really I don't think it's a big deal.
> 
> Thanks for reading and please enjoy.

 

+++

 

It’s a beautiful day outside. Ironic, Daisuke muses as he runs all the way to Junes, considering the shitty weather for the past week.

Today is Sunday so there’s no school, but he wouldn’t have given a second thought to skipping it if it means someone is going to tell him what the fuck’s going on. He tells his mother he needs some air and that he’ll be home later, and he’s out the door just after nine.

Daisuke is fully expecting to have a long, tortuous wait for Narukami to show up. He’s really early after all, so it comes as a surprise to see he is already there. Not only him, but Hanamura, Satonaka and Amagi are with him, sitting at one of the long picnic-style tables. They’re deep in conversation, hunched at one end of the table, speaking in hushed voices. There’s a Yasogami high gym bag under the table that Yu is resting his feet on.

“This is really risky,” he hears Hanamura say as he approaches, “We can’t just bring random people in there.”

“We need him to help Teddie track Kou down in the fog, this is the easiest way. We all agreed, didn’t we?”

“Yeah but maybe Yosuke has a point,” Chie says, “If we bring him there we’re probably going to have to fight his shadow too, do you really want to -”

“ _Hey_!” Daisuke snaps and forces himself into the bench next to Yu; he’s pleased when Hanamura nearly falls out of his seat in surprise, “There had better be a really good explanation for all of this bullshit or I’m going to kick all of your asses.”

He won’t fight the girls of course - well, maybe Chie if she gets involved - but he has every confidence that he can take both Yu and Yosuke if it comes down to it. Not that he wants to fight persay, but he knows they’re holding out on him and he’s pissed and not thinking straight.

“Fuck man, you scared me,” Yosuke mutters as he settles back on the bench, “You’re early.”

Daisuke glares at him across the table. “You had better start talking right now, because if you know where he is I swear to all the fucking Gods that I am going to-”

“Keep your voice down, Nagase,” Yu pins Daisuke with a very disconcerting look that makes him bite back the curses at the tip of his tongue. “I told you we would explain everything, so calm down and let us explain.”

This is a very different Narukami Yu than the one he knows from school. Where he’s usually an amiable, cool guy he now seems cold and stern. There is a subtle air of authority about him, and Daisuke definitely notices the way the others sit quietly with their attention fixed on Yu.

“Okay, so _explain_ it to me. What is going on?”

Yu takes a breath.

“These are the facts. Three days ago Ichijo Kou appeared on the local news, during which time a secret about him was revealed and he became the centre of local gossip. Two days later he’s reported missing by his family. And finally, he appears clearly on something known as ‘The Midnight Channel’.”

Daisuke’s fist clenches against the surface of the table. Narukami’s explanation of these events is so clinical it makes him uncomfortable.

“You saw him right?” Hanamura asks, “On the TV?”

He remembers it all in vivid, sickening detail.

“The garden, right? Yeah, I saw it. What the hell was that? I thought the Midnight Channel was just some stupid rumor the girl’s started about soul mates and shit.”

“It’s not what people think it is. We’re not entirely sure what it is yet, but what we do know is that people who show up on the TV during rainy nights are the next victims.”

“Victims? Victims of what?”

Narukami and Hanamura exchange a look that makes him regret asking.

“Victims of the Inaba serial killer.”

Daisuke’s entire body feels numb. The detectives had implied the connection yesterday, but now these guys were flat out saying it; Kou was taken by a serial killer.

“Before she died, Konishi-senpai appeared at midnight on the TV. Next, Yukiko-san appeared. I’m sure you remember hearing people talking about it at school.”

_I’m pretty sure I saw her on the Midnight Channel last night! Does that mean Amagi-san is my soul mate?_

Of course he remembers. Yukiko - she isn’t dead though. She is very much alive, sitting across the table from him at this very moment. There’s a kind of sheepish expression on her face and she doesn’t seem to want to look directly at him.

“But Amagi isn’t dead. She’s right here.”

“That’s because they brought me back,” she speaks up, ”They came to rescue me.”

“Brought you back? What the hell does that mean?”

Yu settles his hands on the table and exhales a long breath. “We’re going to tell you some stuff, and it’s going to sound completely insane, but please just hear us out, okay?”

He starts talking about a world on the other side of the TV screen.  A place filled with fog and monsters that come from the darkest parts of the human heart, a place that can be entered as long as you possess a power called ‘Persona’. Their working theory is that someone is kidnapping people and putting them into this TV world, though they have no idea who or why. They managed to save Yukiko and now they think they can save Kou, but they need his help to find him.

Daisuke sits in silence for a long time while he listens to them tell this ridiculous story. He’s not sure whether to laugh or flip the table.

“Are you guys fucking with me?” he asks quietly, “Because you can’t seriously expect me to believe something so stupid.”

The four of them glance back and forth between each other, surprised, he thinks, that he’s not swallowing the bullshit fairy tale.

“I know it sounds insane but -”

“No, you know what’s insane? That you would bring me all the way down here, for what? To make fun of me? Are you recording this or something?”

“Daisuke, we’re not-”

He’s on his feet before he even realizes it. “No, fuck you. Fuck all of you. We’re done.”

Daisuke is walking away. He’s nearly half way across the food court before he feels someone grab him by the upper arm and spin him around; Narukami of course. He gets right up in his face and Daisuke is so angry that he barely restrains himself from punching him.

“Let go,” he says tersely. He tries to tug himself free but Yu is a surprisingly strong guy and his grip never falters.

“Not until you hear us out.”

“Hear you out? I’ve already heard you and I can’t believe I was stupid enough to think you would have all the answers for me.”

“It’s all true Nagase-kun.” Yukiko appears out of nowhere, resting her hand atop of Narukami’s; he looks startled she gently pulls his fingers away and Daisuke is free. “It sounds crazy, I understand. But it’s real. It happened to me, and I hate to think that someone else is going through that right now.”

God does she ever sound genuine and it makes him so uncomfortable. She’s giving him sad eyes while Yu focuses on him like a hawk. In his peripheral vision he’s aware of Chie and Yosuke hovering, watching anxiously. What the hell do they want from him?

“You heard him say it yourself,” Yu says suddenly, “‘They’ll try to convince you. Don’t let them come after me’. That’s us he was talking about.”

He did say that, pretty much word for word.

“That doesn’t mean anything. Kou wouldn’t act like that, someone must have been forcing him to say that stuff.”

“That was him. It’s a part of him,” Yukiko says quietly, “Something that he’s suppressing. A shadow.”

“We’ve all had it happen to us,” Yosuke adds, “When you go there and you let your emotions get away from you then it just comes out. Chie and I we were lucky enough to not be alone, and even though Yukiko-san was left by herself we came to save her. Others weren’t so lucky. Mayumi Yamano. _Saki-senpai_ … they died in that place. No one else is going to suffer like that. Not on our watch.”

“Just let us show you, okay? Come into Junes and let us show you. If anything we’ve told you is a lie then you can punch me in the face. You can punch us all in the face.”

They must really think he’s an idiot, but hell if they all don't look incredibly sincere. Every instinct he has tells him he should just walk away; maybe find that detective and tell him about what he saw on the TV. But he feels his resolve begin to crumble under the weight of their pleading stares.

Daisuke already feels the regret.

“Fine. _Fine_. Show me whatever you want to show me. Just don’t be surprised if I end up breaking your face.”

He’s expecting them to laugh maybe, or a ‘just joking man, I can’t believe you fell for that’. But that doesn’t happen. Whats does happen is Yosuke and Chie go to retrieve the bag they left under the picnic table - Narukami openly scolds them for being careless and Hamamura in particular looks put out by this - and Yukiko looks so relieved it seems like she might just buckle and fall over.

Are they that invested in this bullshit joke?

“Come on,” Yu is motioning for him to follow, “Let’s get moving.”

“Where the hell are we going?” He asks as he matches his stride with Yu; Yukiko keeps pace at his opposite side, the other two trail behind. There is the distinct sound of muffled clanking coming from Yosuke’s gym bag.

“To the electronics section.”

“Why?”

“So I can prove that we aren’t fucking with you,” he replies calmly.

Junes is mostly empty when they enter. It’s still early, and the few customers they have are all milling around in the produce section. When they arrive in the electronics section, Narukami stops in front of a particularly large flat screen TV. The area is barren, though they all make a show of peering around to make sure no one is watching.

“Okay, we’re here. Now what?”

Yu approaches the large television set. Yosuke, Chie and Yukiko circle around him, forming a kind of human barrier to block any prying eyes that might suddenly appear. If Daisuke didn’t think the whole thing was totally ridiculous, he can admit that it’s certainly a big enough screen for multiple people to fit through at a time.

“Now I’ll accept your apologies for doubting us and we can move on to rescuing Kou.”

Before Daisuke can respond, Yu raises one arm and thrusts it at the TV. He expects the sound of fingernails rapping against the screen, and maybe some cursing given the force behind the motion, but that’s not what happens.

Narukami’s arm is enveloped right up the the elbow. Soft light ripples across the surface of the screen like the breaking of a still pond. Daisuke is pretty sure he feels his jaw unhinge as Yu moves his arm in a lazy circular motion.

“No fucking way,” he gapes as the other boy pulls his arm back.

“Everything we told you is true,” he replies with that serious tone from earlier, “There is a world on the other side of the TV, and we have the power to get there. Kou is in serious danger. You know him the best, we need your help to find him.”

Daisuke barely registers the words. Instead he approaches the TV himself and tentatively prods at the screen with one finger. Nothing happens; it’s smooth and solid to the touch. He pushes at it with a little more force, but still nothing.

The weight of a hand settles on his shoulder and then something changes. It’s like a current that runs through his whole body, and suddenly his hand is sinking in to the screen. It’s a bizarre sensation, mostly because it doesn’t feel like anything.

“How are you doing this?” he asks in quiet disbelief. There is something pulling at him, light but consistent. As he slowly pushes his arm a little further in, he feels it tug at him a little stronger.

“Because he has a Persona,” Hanamura says, “We all do. We’ll show you on the other side, if you’re willing to help us.”

The other side. They mean to take him all the way through, to give into whatever force is trying to pull him into the screen. He frowns and pulls his hand free; the feeling of static clings to his skin and it’s strange.

“You think Kou is there? Through the TV screen?”

Daisuke can’t believe those words came out of his mouth. It could still just be some elaborate trick. Hanamura’s family managed this store, it would probably be easy for him to set up a prank like this.

“When people show up clearly on the Midnight Channel like Kou did last night, we’re pretty sure  that means that he’s already over there.”

Daisuke’s no entirely sure what to think anymore, it’s all so ridiculous. He decides that now is the time for them to put up or shut up. He looks Yu square in the eye and nods firmly. “Show me.”

Narukami nods back and once again takes the time to look around the deparment floor to make sure they’re still alone. He tells the other three to give them a few minutes before they follow. When he’s satisfied, he grabs Daisuke by the shoulder and starts shoving him forward towards the TV. A half hearted protest escapes him as he plunges face first into the tv screen. It’s a bizarre feeling, passing through the glass as if nothing is there. He’s toppling forward, suddenly falling through a rush of colour and sound. His heart thunders in his chest at the sensation, and just as he begins to panic his body connects with something solid.

Daisuke finds himself in a sprawling heap on the ground. He groans as he sits up, though he’s happy that there’s something substantial underneath him; there was a fear, for a brief moment, that he would be falling forever.

Glancing up he sees Narukami standing beside him, offering him a hand; the bastard is completely unruffled, as if he had simply walked through a door.

“You okay?” he asks as Daisuke takes his hand and hauls himself to his feet.

His initial instinct is to respond with something like ‘Yeah, I’m fine’, but as he opens his mouth he begins to notice the world around him. When they told him there was a world inside the TV he wasn’t quite sure what he was expecting to find, but what’s before him is certainly not what he might have imagined. The first thing he notices is the fog. Thick and disorienting, it makes it difficult to see more than a few feet ahead; his head aches faintly if he looks too long in any one direction. They’re standing on what looks to be a vast stage, the kind that pop idols perform on, with huge indistinct scaffolding surrounding it. Just behind Narukami there is a stack of old television sets hissing with static.

“Are you okay?” Narukami asks again, and this time Daisuke catches his meaning.

“I don’t know,” he replies after a moment of silence, “Where are we? What’s with the fog?”

“Welcome to the TV world. Try not to look into the fog for too long, it’ll mess with your head. Just focus on me right now.”

Daisuke drags his gaze away from the towering structures back towards Yu. The other boy is wearing a pair of glasses; Daisuke is one hundred percent sure he was not wearing these minutes ago and in fact he’s never seen him wear glasses before this moment. He blinks and furrows his brow.

“They’re for the fog,” Yu answers his unasked question, “Don’t worry, you’ll get a pair.”

Daisuke is sure he should have some sort of follow up question for that, but instead he just sighs and shakes his head. Of course he needs glasses to see through the weird fog in the magical TV world. Of course.

At that moment the pile of TVs begins to flicker, and then Hanamura, Satonaka and Amagi all come tumbling through them. Well, only Yosuke really comes tumbling, landing on his back in a graceless heap; he just manages to avoid landing on the bag. The girls are able to catch their balance and land on their feet.

“Don’t worry Yosuke, you’ll stick the landing one of these days,” Chie laughs as she offers him a hand up.

“Shut up man, you were the one who pushed me!” he shouts back, accepting her help despite the accusations.

“Psshhaw, like I would do that.”

They bicker back and forth; Yukiko looks put out. She scolds them both for being immature and they at least have the decency to look embarrassed. He notices that all three of them are also wearing glasses.

“Nagase-kun,” she steps away from them, “How are you doing?”

“Confused,” he says slowly, “This is … really fucking weird.”

“Yeah, it’s kind of a shock,” Chie adds in, argument with Yosuke apparently forgotten, “I wouldn’t believe it if I hadn’t come here before. But don’t worry, we rescued Yukiko just fine and we’ll do the same for Ichijo!”

She punches him on the arm, a gesture that he thinks is supposed to make him feel better, and she laughs; Yosuke makes a small embarrassed noise.

Daisuke doesn’t know what to do. A wave of conflicting emotions begins to overtake him; embarrassment, anxiety, fear, relief. It floods through him and he can’t begin to separate one from another. He thinks he should apologize maybe, for making a scene at Junes and threatening them, though he wonders how anyone could reasonably just accept something like this. Here he is, standing in some bizzare other place and he’s still not sure if any of it is real.

“Sensei, you’re here!”

A startling voice cuts through the air and as Daisuke turns towards it he fleetingly wonders if he is still asleep or if maybe he hit his head. A distinctly round shape ambles towards them through the fog, each step punctuated with a soft squeak that echoes in the vast space of the stage area. A bright blue mascot costume comes into view and Daisuke thinks maybe he might need to sit down.

“Hiya gang ~” the bear says cheerfully (is it a bear? he’s not quite sure).

“Hey Teddie,” Narukami greets him with a smile, “Daisuke, this is Teddie. He lives here in the TV world. Teddie, this is my friend Daisuke. The one we told you about, remember?”

“Oh yeah of course! Nice to meet ya. I am the wonderful Teddie, I’m sure you’ve heard of me and my amazing nose.”

Teddie. He remembers the bit of conversation he overheard the other day. Daisuke blinks and then looks between the two of them for several long moments. The bear is smiling at him expectantly while Yu is perfectly neutral.

“Why are you wearing a bear costume?”

Teddy kind of tilts to the side. “It’s not a costume.”

Daisuke turns to Yu, who is shaking his head and making a vague gesture with his hands.

“Okay. And you … live here?”

“I sure do! I’ve always been here. At least, I’m pretty sure I’ve always been here. Though lately I’m not quite sure of -”

“He didn’t ask for your life story Ted,” Yosuke cuts in, clearly irritated.

The bear looks dejected. “You don’t have to be so mean Yosuke.”

“You’re the one who’s being over dramatic!”

“Enough,” Narukami sighs, “We need to focus on what’s important here. Teddie, do you have the glasses?”

“Insure do.” Teddie holds out one hand to him. “Here you go, Daisuke! Sensei told me he was bringing someone in so I made these for you. Try ‘em on! Try ‘em on!”

A pair of glasses sit in his outstretched hand (paw?). He takes them after only a moment of hesitation and slides the simple black frames over his eyes. The difference is immediate and extreme. The world comes into crisp focus, the fog all but disappearing and the dull ache in his head evaporates.

“Woah,” he breathes, mostly to himself.

He can now clearly see the stark red and black lines of the stage, the ominous white outlines of human figures sprawled across it, the intricate scaffolding of the towers around them, and, much to his disbelief, what looks like the towers of a castle off in the distance. He suddenly feels overwhelmed; maybe he should sit down.

“Are you alright Daisuke?” Yu asks again, some concern finally working it’s way into his expression, “I know it’s a lot to take in at once.”

He’s still not sure what he’s feeling, but it becomes painfully clear to him that every ridiculous word they had told him was true. A world of fog and monsters exists on the otherside of television screens, and they had the ability to get here. And that means the other part must be true as well; those who show up on rainy nights are tied to the serial murder case in Inaba.

Kou is here and he’s in danger.

“He’s in here somewhere?” he asks Teddie, “You can find him?”

“Someone is definitely in here,” Teddie nods enthusiastically, “But it’s hard to pin down exactly. With all of the shadows so worked up and the fog so thick it’s wreaking havoc on my delicate nose.”

“Teddie needs to know more about what Kou is like to find the trail. Like a personal connection I guess you can say.”

Daisuke supposes that makes sense, as much as anything can make sense in a place like this. The bear looks pleased with himself. “Yep, yep! That’s exactly right, Sensei ~ Teddie is on the case!”

“Why do you call him sensei?” Daisuke asks, suddenly curious; Teddie never seems to address Yu by his name, only this weird title.

“Oh that’s easy, because Sensei was the first one to have his Persona! He’s super strong and super cool, so I’m gonna learn everything I can from him.”

Narukami groans, thoroughly embarrassed while the others laugh at him. They’ve used that word a bunch of times now. Persona. It’s how they can get here, so they say, but no one has really explained to him what it is.

“What is Persona?” he asks, “You guys keep using that word.”

“Oh, you don’t know?” somehow Teddie grows even more excited, “Show him your Persona Sensei ~ “

“Yeah ‘Sensei’, let’s see it!” Chie crows, pumping a fist in the air, “Show us your moves!”

Narukami is annoyed. “You’ve seen it already Chie. At least a hundred times.”

“Yeah but Daisuke hasn’t seen it,” she counters, “And Izanagi is really cool looking.”

“You did promise to show him,” Yukiko adds thoughtfully, “As the leader you should honour that promise.”

It didn’t surprise him at all to hear that Narukami is the leader of whatever it is they have going on here. The guy is certainly charismatic enough, stern apparently when he needs to be, and all his friends seem eager to differ to him. Daisuke watches Yu shrug and mutter something under his breath, and though he may seem put out at first his tone is very much agreeable.

“Don’t freak out man,” he says as he backs away from the group by several paces.

Yu then holds out one hand in front of him, a look of concentration lining his features. Something in the air changes, a faint feeling of static that makes the hairs on Daisuke’s neck itch. A faint shimmer of blue surrounds him, pinpoints of light winking into existence; a deep blue card appears before him, hovering in the air. Yu crushes it in his fist.

“Izanagi!”

The light intensifies, followed by a rush of force and movement that gathers around Yu. From that maelstrom something emerges like Daisuke has never seen before. A huge masked figure in a black coat looms over them, hovering above Narukami’s head. It’s got a sword that’s almost longer than it’s body. Daisuke stumbles backwards, nearly tripping over his feet. He can’t believe what he’s seeing.

“Jesus Christ, what the fuck!”

It continues to float, not making an significant movement, but he can’t help but feel like the thing is staring him down. The others all seem perfectly calm; in fact, they seem to be somewhat amused by his reaction.

“This is my power,” Narukami explains calmly, “Our power. It’s called Persona.”

Daisuke’s jaw works soundlessly for several minutes before he finally manages to get some words out. “How … how are you doing this?”

“Pretty impressive, right?” Teddie is so jazzed he looks like he might explode, “Sensei is so cool!”

“Hey we’re all cool thank you,” Chie interjects, “We all have Personas, you know.”

He’s thunderstruck as the bizarre figure dissipates in a shimmer of light, leaving the world much less dramatically than it entered. What the actual fuck? This is beginning to feel a lot like something out of a video game. Giant floating monsters that appear out of thin air. A mysterious world only they had access too. Some kind of mascot character.

Was he still asleep? Maybe this is like one of those hyper realistic dreams he’s heard about, where it seems like you’re awake but any moment you might be back in your bed. How can any of this be real?

“Daisuke?”

He’s been staring at the empty space above Yu’s head for a while now, slack jawed and completely zoned out. When he realizes this he snaps back to attention, glancing around at the others. No longer amused, they all now seem mildly concerned.

“Are you okay?” someone asks, but he’s not sure who.

“How did you do that?” is all he can think to ask.

Narukami very calmly explains to him that they all got Personas after facing their shadows, manifestations of their darkest true feelings, and accepting them as a part of themselves. Shadows. That's what they had called Kou when he appeared on the Midnight Channel. He’s still not entirely sure he gets this concept, but considering all the insane things they have told him are all true he can only nod along numbly.

“Its very possible that we’re going to find your own shadow in here. We debated a lot about whether to bring you. It’s a big risk. To be honest, it would be easier if you didn’t come at all. And you don’t have to.  All Teddie needs is for you to give him a connection to Kou and then we can take you back.”

Oh no. Oh hell no. They are definitely not going to dangle something like this in front of him and then say he can’t see it through to the end. Besides, Kou is his friend. His best friend. Daisuke will not leave his fate in someone else’s hands if he can help it.

“I’m going,” he says firmly, “You’re the ones that dragged me in here, you damn well are going to let me find him.”

He turns to Teddie, who has been surprisingly quiet given his earlier enthusiasm, and bends down a little so they are at eye level.

“What do you need to know?”

 

+++

 


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This took a little longer than I wanted but I am finally happy with this chapter. I ended up re-writing it a few times. 
> 
> I also realized I flubbed up my timing a little bit, and there probably should have been another day between Kou's Midnight Channel appearance and the team going in with Daisuke. Oops. I'll try to do a better job of my chronology and we'll just assume the team is a little more on the ball in this universe then they are in the game :)
> 
> Many thanks again to all my readers for their kudos and comments.

 

+++

 

This is officially the weirdest day of his life.  

He’s following a walking bear costume through rolling banks of fog clutching a golf club while his schoolmates form a protective circle around him. Narukami is holding a long sword in one hand. Hanamura has a pair of knives. Satonaka, a pair of metal soled boots and Amagi clutches a blade tipped fan close to her chest. Yosuke had produced these from the gym bag; upgrades, he had claimed as they each took their items gleefully.

Narukami had given him the golf club - underwhelming, comparatively - promising they would buy him something nicer later if he wanted. He has so many follow up questions for that he decides to just accept it and keeps his mouth shut.

Apparently they all have some degree of body armor on underneath their uniforms too, which explains why they’re wearing them on a Sunday. Daisuke wonders why they need things like katanas and body armor when they can summon giant terrifying brain monsters; the answer to that question comes about five minutes after they leave the stage area.

It happens so quickly that Daisuke can barely keep up with it. Teddie is leading them through the fog, confident that he’s got Kou’s scent. They’re walking in a tight group when Yosuke suddenly stops in his tracks, craning his neck around to the left. He opens his mouth to say something but before any words can escape a dark shape comes barreling out of the fog, slamming full tilt into him.

Yosuke goes flying over their collective heads, cursing and flailing.

“Shit, already?” Chie shouts, “They don’t usually come after us this fast.”

There are three of them, dark boxy shapes skittering through the fog. They move so fast it’s hard to see them in any great detail, but he catches a glimpse of wide snapping jaws and deep set eyes that can’t possibly exist on any natural creature. Yosuke is back on his feet almost immediately, blades spinning in his hands; he looks pissed.

“You’re going down for that!” he growls at his attackers, “Let’s do this Jiraya!”

The same blue shimmer that he had seen from Yu envelopes Hanamura, and when another card appears he slashes at it with the kind of acrobatic precision Daisuke would never have expected from the guy who frequently runs his bike into telephone poles. The Persona that appears looks very different from the one that Yu had shown him, a lithe figure in a white jumpsuit and a billowing red scarf.

“Magaru!”

Jiraya clasps it’s distinctly frog-like hands together and a fierce gust of wind consumes the three shadows.  Caught in the updraft, they screech and claw wildly in the air. Yosuke is also moving, leaping at the closest shadow with both knives flashing. A keening wail fills the air as the blades hit home and Daisuke watches in morbid fascination as the monster begins to disintegrate into black sludgey ashes. Yu and Chie move in a moment later to dispatch the other two, who succumb to the same brutal fate under sword and boot.

_Jesus Christ._

It had been one thing to see Yu’s Persona just hovering relatively harmlessly, but actually watching one in action brought the ridiculousness of this whole scenario to a brand new level. Was that some kind of magic Yosuke had done just now? How did he move so fast? The guy barely even looked ruffled after having been knocked down, let alone charging in to stab something to death. None of them have even broken a sweat.

“Everyone alright?” Yu asks; it’s a broad enough statement to include the whole group, but Daisuke can tell that the concern is directed at him.

“Uh, yeah. I’m good,” he says, “That was … those are shadows?”

“Small fry,” Yosuke scoffs as he wipes the blade of one of his knives on his sleeve, “Not much to worry about.”

Nothing to worry about. Right.

“Dude. How is it you can do this kind of ninja shit and make it look so easy when I routinely see you crash your bike into the trash cans at the front gate?”

Yosuke laughs and maybe looks kind of embarrassed. “It wasn’t all that special.”

“No seriously man. That was impressive.”

“Don’t flatter him so much Daisuke or he’ll start letting it go to his head,” Chie snarks, “It’s already big enough as it is.”

“Let’s keep moving. We don’t want to get ambushed again,” Yu is trying to wrangle them all forward, “C’mon Ted, which way?”

They continue, and if Daisuke is a little nervous, well, he does his best not to let it show. Now that he knows they’re out there he can sometimes hear them, off in the distance. Shadows are circling them, though they give a wide berth. Narukami and Hanamura are having a quiet discussion that Daisuke can’t quite catch, but he does hear one of them express concern that they were attacked outside of a dungeon. He’s not sure what to make of the term ‘dungeon’, but it seems as though being attacked out in the open like this is not something that happens usually.

About ten more minutes pass in tense silence and then Daisuke sees it. There’s something just ahead, a huge indistinct shape in the fog. A strange feeling settles in his stomach as they approach. The fog begins to thin, and a massive structure comes into focus.

“This is it for sure!” Teddie crows happily, “I found him Sensei ~”

Daisuke recognizes it almost immediately, though there’s something not quite correct about it. The Ichijo family’s summer estate looms before them in all it’s old world traditional splendor.  He and Kou had been here all the time when they were kids on summer vacations, and it’s a place that holds a lot of  memories for him. It’s mostly as he remembers it, down to the slate tiled roof and the painted white exterior, however where the old wooden gate should be there’s a strange red and black swirling mass.

“No way,” he mutters, freezing in his tracks, “How is this here?”

“Do you recognize this Nagase-kun?” Yukiko asks.

“Yeah … it’s his family’s vacation house in Okinawa. What the hell is it doing here?”

“The Midnight Channel becomes reality for whoever is here,” Yosuke says somberly, “For some reason it creates a specific location around that person’s feelings. This place must have a lot of significance for Ichijo.”

Yeah, that’s putting it mildly. A lot of history is associated with this house, both good and bad, and it’s presence here makes Daisuke uneasy.

“So he’ll be in the house, right? All we have to do is go in and get him?”

“Why bother, he’s probably dead already.”

It comes from behind. The group all turns like a pack of startled deer toward the direction of the voice. Someone is coming towards them through the fog, a silhouette that slowly comes into focus like an old polaroid.  He’s not sure how or why, but Daisuke knows what it is even before the face comes smirking through the gloom.

He’s staring at himself.

“Damn it, that was fast,” he hears someone say but Daisuke is so transfixed on this other him that he can’t be bothered with the details. It’s like he’s looking into a mirror, every detail a perfect reflection right down to the stain on the left leg of his tracksuit. The only notable difference is the eyes. Yellow, sickly looking and cruel. It saunters casually, stopping just a few feet away from them. Hands in his pockets, other Daisuke juts his chin out and chuckles.

“You should just go back,” it says in a strangely pitched version of his voice, “Save yourself the trouble. You’re just going to fuck it up like you always do.”

All Daisuke can do is stand there, slack jawed and stupefied. It has his face. How can it have his face? His legs feel weak, like they might buckle under his weight at any moment.

“What’s the matter, huh? Nothing to say? Or are you just going to hide behind them? Che, what a fucking weakling. Always hiding behind someone else when things get rough.”

“I … I don’t …”

“Man what a disappointment I am. No wonder I got dumped in middle school.” It pauses and smirks, eyes narrowing, “Not that it matters. Girls are such a waste of space anyways, who fucking needs ‘em? Ain’t nothing that can’t be replaced with your own hand, right?”

“Shut up!” Daisuke shouts; his face is burning with embarrassment, “Just shut the hell up!”

Narukami appears at his side, grabbing him by the shoulder. “Daisuke. You have to calm down and listen to me. You have to acknowledge what it’s saying, if you don’t then it’s going to go berzerk.”

Accept it? They had warned him about this, that a shadow was going to drag all of his darkest feelings out to light, but he was definitely not prepared for the reality of it. He is brutally ashamed at this point, and he doesn’t think he will be able to look either Chie or Yukiko in the eye ever again.

“But I don’t … it’s not …”

“You should listen to him. You’re too stupid to make your own decisions so you need someone to tell you what to do. It’s too bad Kou’s not here, he always knows just what to do. God I miss him.”

“SHUT UP!”

Yu grip tightens. “We understand, okay? It’s doesn’t matter what the shadow says, we’re still your friends. That’s just a part of you, you have to accept it.”

“I ain’t talking to you,” the shadow snarls back at Yu, “This is a private conversation. Maybe you should be watching out for yourselves, we ain’t exactly alone here.”

A long howl echoes from the fog, and he can see more shadows darting around, circling closer.

“Aw shit, they’re back!” Yosuke shouts, “This is bad.”

Before Daisuke can even blink his shadow is moving. It grabs him by the collar of his track suit and throws him backwards. His back hits the ground hard, knocking the breath from his lungs. The golf club clatters to the ground rolling well out of his reach. His Shadow kneels over him, a smug grin stretched wide on his face.

“Pathetic,” he spits, “You can’t do anything for anyone. We should have just done what Kou asked us to and stayed away. We always do what he asks, don’t we? But we can’t save him. We might as well just give up.”

“Stop saying ‘we’. That’s not how I feel.”

“Of course it is. I am you, all of my feelings are your feelings.”

The others are yelling as the lesser shadows lunge in for an attack. Yu is trying to move towards him but a squat, vaguely dog-like creature closes it’s jaws around one of his legs and drags him down; something dark splashes across the ground as Narukami calls for his Persona.

“This is our fault,” the shadow sing-songs, “It’s all our fault. This is what happens when we try, right? Everything always ends up going to shit. No wonder Dad never comes back to see us, who would want such a useless son -”

“Fuck you!” Daisuke snarls as he struggles back to his feet, “Stop fucking talking for me! You aren’t me!”

It blinks at him, and the smug grin slides away into something akin to relief. The shadows throws back it’s head and laughs.

“Good. _Good_. You’ve finally done something worthwhile. Now I don’t have to be attached to something so pathetic. I don’t have to hold back anymore. Now everyone will see just how strong I can be.”

Daisuke watches in horror as his other self is completely engulfed in a black smoke. It bellows and expands until it towers above him, and through the darkness he begins to see something take shape as the sound of his own laughter fills the air. As this is happening he inexplicably feels himself growing weak, exhausted even. His legs buckle and he’s back on the ground as the smoke begins to dissipate. The hulking form of a horse in full armour - black and corroded looking - rears up in the remnants of the haze, twin points of red gleaming from beneath it’s helmet. It stomps it’s massive iron hooves and the ground quakes in their wake. Clinging to it’s back is another figure. A woman, grey-skinned, completely naked save for a crowned veil of black cloth that completely obscures her entire head and drapes over her shoulders. Three massive long swords pierce her torso down to the hilt. He watches as she grasps at one with delicate fingers and wrenches it from her own body.

Daisuke barely keeps himself from throwing up.

“I am a Shadow, the true self,” it rumbles, no longer imitating Daisuke’s voice; this is impossibly deep, something that he feels in his bones, “I’ll show you what it truly means to fail. Prepare to see the futility of your own lives.”

The others have beaten back the smaller shadows and they cluster around him now, a barrier between him and that monster. Narukami is barking orders but the words are indistinct and seem far away. God he’s tired, even with the fear and the adrenaline coursing through his blood. Maybe he should just close his eyes for a minute.

“Daisuke!”

Teddie is suddenly by his side, blinking at him with those wide ridiculous eyes of his. He pats the side of his face with a soft paw. “Hey Daisuke, are you okay? Stay with me here.”

He tries to focus on the bear but there’s something wrong with his vision. His gaze travels back towards that thing. That monstrous, terrible thing that came from him because he’s too ashamed to admit the truth. It rears back again and shrieks, a terrible, raging sounds that threatens to deafen him.

“You think you can defeat me?!” the woman screams in a voice so deep it clashes with all sensibility; she pulls a second blade from her body, “Come at me with everything you have, your efforts will be meaningless.”

A wave of powerful dizziness overtakes him and he can only accept it as his body slumps backwards. Why can’t he keep his eyes open? The world feels like it’s slowing down, a soundless, colourless void that Daisuke can feel himself sinking into.

He can almost feel the precise moment he passes out as his mind slips into blackness.

 

+++

 

It’s your fault.

They’re going to die.

Kou is going to be killed and you didn’t stop it.

Daisuke.

Wake up Daisuke.

HEY.

 

+++

  
His eyes snap open.

A breathless cry claws its way out of his throat as he struggles for air. He’s surrounded by faces, eyes that are too close and bore into him with heavy concern. What happened? Daisuke scrabbles backwards, desperate for his own personal space. He searches out that massive shadow, but there’s no sign of it.

“Dude,” Hanamura speaks up, “Are you okay? You passed out.”

He passed out? There’s still  that feeling of weakness and being light headed in him, like all of the energy had just been sucked out of his body, but it’s not as overwhelming as it had been. It’s not much of a difference, but at least now Daisuke feels as though he has control over his own body again. After taking a few deep breaths he manages to pull himself to his own unsteady feet.

“What happened?”

“Don’t worry, we showed that shadow who’s boss!” Chie says enthusiastically, “It was a little rough though, haha. You’re a tough guy Daisuke.”

Chie has a thin line of blood oozing from her nose, though she either doesn’t notice or isn’t paying it any mind. They’re all spattered in blood and gore, though none of them show any outward signs of being overly hurt. Yu is favouring his right leg and Yosuke keeps rubbing at his elbow, but they otherwise seem fine.

This is his fault. God he’s so stupid.

“I’m sorry,” he says, shame once again burning across his face, “I should have listened to you. I should have -”

“It’s okay,” Narukami cuts him off, “I know you’re probably exhausted but we need you to do one more thing.”

The group parts and Daisuke is shocked to see his shadow self once again. It’s back to being his mirror image, no longer a nightmarish vision, scowling at him with it’s arms crossed over it’s chest. They defeated the monster, but for some reason this guy was still here? Why is it still here?

“You have to accept it,” Yukiko says, “I know that it’s hard, Nagase-kun. But you have to believe in your own feelings.”

“What happens in the Midnight Channel stays in the Midnight Channel,” Yosuke adds in somberly, “No one is going to hold anything against you later, not when we all know how hard it is to admit your true feelings.”

Admit his true feelings. A long breath escapes him and Daisuke sags on his feet. Deep in his heart he knows that what his shadow said is true. He feels like a failure. Nothing he’s ever done has worked out for him and he depends so much on Kou it’s probably unhealthy. He takes a step towards the other him, head hung low.

“If I had listened to you guys in the first place I probably could have just saved you a lot of pain and effort. I’m sorry.” He looks up and locks his gaze with his shadow. “You’re right. Of course you’re right. I’ve been half-assing a lot of things because I’m afraid of fucking up and being disappointed in myself. I’m frustrated with school, I’m frustrated with girls and I’m pretty much useless without Kou to tell me what to do. Does that about cover it?”

It doesn’t respond, just tilts it’s head and narrows it’s eyes; Daisuke sighs.

“You are me. And I guess it’s okay to admit that.”

The shadow drops it’s arms and the scowl dissolves into a smile. It begins to glow with a familiar blue light, rapidly degrading into an insubstantial haze. As it crumbles away a new form begins to take shape. A distinctly feminine figure floats before him, clad in intricate gleaming plate armor head to toe. Her entire face is obscured by a smooth mask that looks like it should suffocate a normal person; massive sculpted wings crest the sides of it. Long blonde hair cascades behind her, gradiating into a stream of luminescence that highlights the gloom of the TV world.. In one hand she holds a broadsword that looks like it weighs a thousand pounds, and in the other a spear with a tip that looks like it could split him in two with a casual flick of the wrist. Even though he can’t see her eyes Daisuke can feel her gaze boring through him.

_“Thou art I, and I art Thou.”_

A strange neutral voice rings in his head and a feeling of warmth rushes through him. Startled, he nearly topples over.

_“You have overcome the hardship of life and accepted your true self. I am Valkyrie. You shall witness my power with your own two eyes.”_

The woman dissipates after a moment as well, and a blue card hovers in mid air before him. Daisuke reaches out and as his fingers graze the surface it vanishes. He’s not sure how to quantify it, but it feels like something sparks in his mind, like his brain is trying to remember something it should have known all along.

_Valkyrie_. The name rings in his head like it’s always meant to be there.

“We should get back,” Yu speaks up suddenly, “We can’t just stand here, there might be more of those little ones lurking around and we’re not in any shape right now for random encounters.”

Wait, what. Get back? What is he saying? They need to find Kou.

“We can’t go back, he’s still in here!” Daisuke protests, “I’m not just going to leave him.”

“You’re in no shape to keep going today, you need to recover,” Yu says firmly, “And honestly, I think I need to lie down for a while myself.”

How can he be so nonchalant about this? He can’t seriously be thinking of just walking away, not after they’ve come this far.

“Dude, no way! I’m not leaving him in here!”

“Kou will be alright,” Teddie says with out of place cheerfulness, “The shadows only get riled up once the fog goes away. Until then they’re mostly harmless, they’ll leave him alone for a while.”

“Mostly harmless? You call that mostly harmless?” he gestures wildly in the direction of where his shadow had gone berserk, “We’ve been attacked twice and you guys are all bleeding and -”

“I promise you he will be okay. Yuki-chan was here for almost two weeks before we could rescue her.”

“I know how hard it is to have to walk away, trust me,” Chie adds, “When I realized that Yukiko was in here all by herself I wanted to storm that castle and find her on day one. Even after I got my Persona, these two had to drag me away and talk some sense into me.”

“But … we can’t … I can’t just leave him here. He’s my best friend.”

Yukiko holds up one hand and gives him a sharp look. “Ichijo-san wouldn’t be happy if you ran yourself to death for his sake, just like I would have been devastated if something happened to Chie because of me. I was okay waiting for them, he’ll be okay waiting for us. Please have faith that we’re doing this with his best interests at heart.”

Can it really be okay to just leave? He glances back at the replica of the Ichijo Estate looming in the fog. Kou is in there. Kou is in danger. But there is a part of him, a tiny little voice of reason in his mind, that thinks maybe the others are right. That fight took a lot out of them, he can see it clear on their faces. There will be more fighting, he’s sure of that, and in the state they’re in how long would they last? They’ve done this before, and Yukiko is proof of that. She’s alive. She’s fine. Kou will be fine.

“Shit,” he curses and digs his palms into his eyes, “I really hate you guys, you know that right?”

Narukami actually chuckles at this and pats him on the shoulder. “Yeah, I know. C’mon man, let’s get you back. The sooner you’re rested up the sooner we can come again.”

“And hey, look on the bright side, now you have a Persona too! You’ll be kicking shadow’s asses in no time,” Yosuke nudges him with his shoulder, “Trust me though, you’re gonna wanna sleep for a week once the adrenaline wears off.”

Hanamura is right about that. As they slowly turn away from the house and begin the walk back to the stage, Daisuke can feel himself growing wearier with every step. His body is exhausted - he’s not even sure why considering he’s barely done anything at all, the others did all the work - and it’s hard to concentrate on anything but putting one foot in front of the other. Yu and Yosuke surreptitiously position themselves on either side of him, he suspects incase he topples over. The others banter cheerfully, attempting lighten the mood a little with jokes and boasting over their performances. Daisuke is kind of irritated, but also kind of grateful. He does manage to make it all the way back under his own power though.

“Teddie, we’ll leave these with you,” Narukami hands over the gym bag after they all put their weapons inside, “Take good care of them okay?”

“Righto Sensei, you can trust Teddie!”

Yukiko giggles and pats him on the head. “Good bear.”

“Oh yes, I’m a very good bear Yuki-chan. Mrrrow!”

Yosuke groans and wipes a hand over his face. “Ugh, I’ve definitely had enough for one day. Let’s get out of here. I’ll be the scout.”

He approaches the TV sets a tentatively sticks his head through. It still weirds Daisuke out to see it, even after everything that’s happened.

“Coast is clear!” Yosuke calls as he begins to crawl through, “Let’s go guys.”

Chie is nudging him forward to follow after Hanamura. “You go next Daisuke. You should be able to do it on your own now.”

He approaches the stack, tentatively reaching out one hand; it passes through the screen easily, and this time no one is helping him do it. Taking a breath he moves forward, plunging in headfirst until his whole body is falling through; it’s just as jarring as the first time. Once again he finds himself in a sprawling heap on the ground, this time blinking up at the yellowing ceiling tiles of Junes.

“On your feet Nagase,” Yosuke is grabbing him by the forearm, pulling him upright, “We gotta move fast incase any customers come by.”

The other three come through one after another in quick succession, and then they are all doing their best to look inconspicuous while standing around the display television. There’s no one in the immediate vicinity, but he can hear the voices of shoppers floating  from not so far away. It’s surreal to think that while they were off in a strange other world people here were just carrying on with their daily routine. As if none of it had happened.

“Looks like we missed the noon rush,” Yosuke says, a hint of relief in his tone, “Good timing.”

“What happens now?”

“Now, I’m going to walk you home and you’re going to sleep for the rest of the day,” Narukami says, “And then I am probably going to do the same.”

Chie nods enthusiastically. “Yeah that sounds great, I’m totally wiped. Boss battles are always super exhausting.”

“Boss battles? This isn’t a video game Chie,” Yosuke snipes, “But yeah, I’m pretty tired too. How about we meet up tomorrow after school? We can take him shopping and get more supplies.”

So this was it? They’re just going to go their separate ways and sleep off the entire experience.  It sounds terrible when he thinks about it, knowing that Kou is still in that place, but he’s so exhausted the thought of falling into bed sounds like heaven.

The girls abruptly say their goodbyes and head off together; Chie leans heavily against Yukiko either from exhaustion or injury, he’s not sure. Yosuke takes off a few moments later, after slapping Daisuke on the arm and promising that they’ll go back as soon as possible, leaving him alone with Narukami.

“C’mon,” he says, tugging at the sleeve of his tracksuit, “I really need to change my clothes.”

Oh. Right. Here they are standing in the middle of a department store while Yu’s uniform, particularly his left pant leg, is filthy and blood soaked. Daisuke takes one last lingering look at the television before reluctantly following. They duck through the less trafficked aisles to make sure that as few people see him as possible, and manage to sneak out one of the side entrances.

It’s a beautiful sunny day in Inaba, perfect for an early afternoon walk. Or, you know, an early afternoon trudge after you’ve just traversed a horrible nightmare world and confronted your own deep seated emotional baggage. He’s very glad Yu is with him, because without his constant badgering about staying awake and moving forward Daisuke is fairly certain he would have just fallen down and passed out in a ditch somewhere.

Yu drops him off at his front door, promising him that they’ll talk tomorrow about a plan to rescue Kou. He’s not entirely satisfied with how this has all played out, but he just doesn’t have the energy to do anything about it. He also understands that maybe he’s been irrational and stupid about his desire to save Kou and that he might be better off listening to the people who had experience in dealing with other dimensional worlds. Thankfully his mother is out when he stumbles through the front door so he doesn’t have to answer any questions. Daisuke barely manages to crawl up the stairs and into his futon, fully clothed with his shoes still on, before he passes out completely.

It’s the best sleep he’s had all week.

 

+++

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So Daisuke finally has his Persona. Go Strength Arcana. The iteration of Valkyrie he has is of course be different than the one in game both visually and ability wise - and for story sake Yu won't have access to it.
> 
> The way I imagine that people would actually fight with Personas is more akin to the Arena games, where they kind of fight in tandem with each other. There wasn't a whole lot of action in this chapter just because Daisuke is still a TV baby, but that will be the style when combat comes more into play.


End file.
